American Icons

We've changed our base of operations to Pittsfield, MA while we enjoy the bounty the Berkshires has to offer. This is where people not only live year round, but there are loads of second homes - cottages, if you will - in charming little villages. We travel around on two lane country roads amidst beautiful surroundings. Everything is lush - provided by the abundance of rain this year - and that includes the mosquitoes. We now carry a generous supply of deet laced spray which we liberally apply as part of the daily routine.

Our good friend, Susan Russell lives here so there's a special connection to Pittsfield.


We bought a four museum pass called American Icons. These are all places in the immediate area and each is unique.














Our first stop was The Mount. Susan spent the day with us visiting the home built by Edith Wharton. The house and gardens are being restored to look nearly as they did when she resided and wrote there.


There are no original furnishings but this collection of books was actually Wharton's. The foundation purchased them and proudly displays them in her library. There are photos of how the rooms looked when she was there.








This room was part of Wharton's personal suite. She usually wrote in bed...but the guides like to say she sat at her desk in this room as she wrote.


Her first book was The Decoration of Homes. She had a distinct style...I suppose this entitled her to write a book. The house is interesting but not nearly as gracious as others we've seen from the Gilded Age.

Books we all know...Ethan Fromme and The Age of Innocense.


There are two gardens. This is a formal Greek garden (that's my pal Susan sitting on the bench) in which there are no flowers. She wanted it to be "beautiful" all year round.










On the other side of the house is the English flower garden.





The rear of the house is grand and imposing. The front is plain, symetrical, and gives no hint of the grandness of the back.



The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge holds the record as the snootiest museum I've ever been in. The lady at the information desk was the only friendly person we met. We ran into docents who had incorrect information and cafe employees who weren't interested in waiting on us.





Despite the mood of this place, I'm a true fan of his work. His sense of humor, storytelling ability, and skill in capturing the America of his time is a joy to see.








Rockwell's studio has been moved to the property and it was interesting to be in one of his workspaces. He lived in Stockbridge but not on this property.





The museum's 122 acres includes this lovely old stone residence. It's where the administrators have their offices.













Daniel Chester French. We weren't familiar with his name. He died in 1933. He was a sculpter who was very successful in his lifetime. You might know a couple of his pieces: The Minuteman and The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.


His studio is Chesterwood. It was his summer home. It's a gorgeous property with a Woodland Walk. Just watching the sunlight play on the setting was wonderful. There are modern sculpture pieces displayed along the path.



I took this of a tree stump. Lots of rain has fallen on this land...















After walking the path through the woods, we came to French's studio. No photos allowed inside, but we got this through the door. He had a plaster casting room off to the left, and a very large pair of door immediatly left. The floor panels can be lifted to expose a set a train tracks.






French would roll his works outside, stand on the hill to look at how the light played on them, and then make corrections as he saw fit.









Beside the studio stands his family's summer home. They also had a brownstone in New York. His daughter lived in the house and saw that it was preserved exactly as it was. She and both her parents passed on in this house.









Hancock Shaker Village - one of the last groups of Shakers in this area. It was once a working village, inhabited by several hundred Shakers.





We listened to a lecture about the Shakers. They were peaceful people. Didn't believe in marriage. Lived as brothers and sisters. Their communities were self sustaining. They believed in equality of the sexes. Their founder, a woman, considered herself the second coming of Christ, and they accepted just those parts of the Bible they considered relevant to their lives.




Their lives were defined by simplicity.

They were called Shakers because of the way they shook when in worship.

The red brick building was the residence where they lived - men on the East side and women on the West side.







The round stone barn is the centerpiece of this community. It's huge.










This docent was in the weaving shop. They wear the costumes of the Shakers and do the work as they would have done.

This is the basket shop where they made the beautiful bent wood baskets.

The broom shop.

The cloak shop. These cloaks became a fashion statement in their time.


The Shakers are gone, but we were pleased we had this chance to visit their lifestyle.