From Columbia, S.C.––

A Lachaise Original Comes Back To Newtown

By Dottie Evans

Another work of art by the world famous American sculptor Gaston Lachaise (1882–1935) has returned to Newtown and may eventually take its place alongside two portrait busts by Lachaise already owned by the Cyrenius Booth Library.

The pen-and-ink drawing is a quickly executed but elegant sketch of a couple embracing and the drawing was done on brown packing paper, as though the artist was in haste, using whatever paper was at hand. The name “Gaston Lachaise,” the date 1912 and title “Washington Square” are written in cursive on the back and it is not clear whether the signature is actually the artist’s.

 “This picture has been hanging in our front hall a very long time,” said former Newtown resident George Geckle, a South Carolina resident who was in Newtown visiting his brother, Bob Geckle, over Memorial Day Weekend.

Mr Geckle stopped by The Bee offices Tuesday noon with the framed drawing carefully wrapped in plastic. He explained that it really belonged to his wife, Justine “Judy” Carroll Geckle, who also grew up in Newtown not far from the Geckle family’s Queen Street home.

Mrs Geckle died in November 2002 and Mr Geckle had decided that he should have the drawing appraised as part of her estate.

 “Eventually, I hope to give this to the library,” he added.

The Allys Lachaise Connection

While Mr Geckle was preparing to bring the Lachaise drawing north to Connecticut, word of its existence had reached Virginia Budny, an art historian with connections to both the Lachaise Foundation and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

“There are so few dated drawings by Lachaise,” Ms Budny wrote The Bee.

She is eager to see the sketch for herself and has indicated that she may include a picture of it in a scholarly paper she is writing for the American Art Journal. She will also give Mr Geckle the names of appraisers who might be able to assess its current value on the art market.

But the story of the Lachaise drawing has an intriguing side beyond its monetary value.

As was the case with the two portrait busts at the Cyrenius Booth Library, it recalls a friendship that was formed nearly 60 years ago between two Newtown residents. One was longtime Newtown resident Virginia Houlihan, who was Judy Geckle’s aunt, and the other was Allys Lachaise, unmarried sister of the famous sculptor.

Miss Lachaise had emigrated from Paris to New York City sometime in the early part of the last century. For many years, she spent summers in Newtown on the shores of Taunton Lake and eventually, she bought a stone bungalow off South Main Street where she lived until she died in 1967.

People remember her as a quiet, refined, and cultured lady who was often seen at the Booth Library or attending community arts events. In September of 1955, she arranged to have an exhibit of her brother’s works on display at the library.

It seems that Miss Lachaise also kept several of his sculptures and drawings on display in her Newtown home because when she died, the two portrait busts –– one of her mother, Marie Lachaise, and the other an unknown artist’s model –– were given to the library as part of its permanent collection.

After her death, the person who helped arrange for the disposal of her valuables and household goods was none other than her good friend Virginia Houlihan. It is possible that Miss Houlihan, who was active in town government, was also the executor of her will.

Virginia Houlihan Plays A Role

Virginia Houlihan, who grew up on the Old Road and spent her life as a teacher until she retired, enjoyed spending time in New York City. She was interested in the arts and was undoubtedly drawn to Miss Lachaise, who was of a similar age and who shared her love of culture.

Miss Houlihan’s sister, Alice Houlihan Carroll, lived on Meadow Road in the borough where she her husband, Pat Carroll, raised three children, Mary Pat, Jim, and Judy.

 During the 1950s, the Carroll kids and the Geckle brothers must have known each other because George Geckle and Judy Carroll eventually married. Her older sister, Mary Pat Carroll Brigham, who lives now in Montpelier, Vt., remembered her Aunt Virginia and Miss Lachaise. She shared her recollections in a phone interview late last month.

“My aunt Mary Virginia Houlihan, whom I called Aunt Vir, lived from 1899 to 1970. She was a school teacher in New York City for 30 years and took early retirement. She moved back to Newtown around 1955 to live with her Horrigan aunts,” she said.

That would have been about the same time Miss Lachaise was living in the old stone house on South Main.

“Aunt Vir lived on the Old Road –– it was called Carcass Lane then –– it was the first house on the right. The Horrigans had been there since the beginning of time,” Mrs Brigham said.

“She was active in town politics and made friends with interesting people. I had met Allys because she and Aunt Vir were close,” Mrs Brigham added.

 “I remember her as pleasant and gray-haired and slightly aristocratic looking. My French was never good enough to really talk to her,” she said.

“They were a very close-knit family, the mother [Marie Lachaise], the brother {Gaston Lachaise] and the sister [Allys].

“I remember my mother saying that Allys had died in the early 1960s, and when it came time to dispose of her things, Aunt Vir was in charge of that.

“I can still picture Miss Lachaise’s house. It was behind a big rock just past the center of town. Aunt Vir lived here 15 years but Miss Lachaise might have been here much longer. They just didn’t know each other until Aunt Vir came back here permanently.”

“I do remember mother telling me that Aunt Vir had been given the job of disposing of Allys’s kitchen, whatever that meant.”

 “Basically, Vir’s will left everything to my mother and my sister Justine [Judy],” Mrs Brigham said.

And that was how a rare, never-published drawing by a famous American sculptor of Parisian descent ended up hanging in the front hall of George and Judy Geckle’s Columbia, S.C., home. It will be interesting to see where it goes next.