Date: Fri 31-Jul-1998

Publication: Ant

Author: LAURAB

Quick Words:

SPNEA-Cogswell-Grant

Full Text:

SPNEA Set To Open Cogswells Grant

(W/5 CUTS)

ESSEX, MASS. -- Tucked away at the end of a dirt road and surrounded by hay

fields, woods and salt marsh of the Essex River, Cogswell's Grant was the

summer home of pioneer collectors Bertram K. and Nina Fletcher Little for more

than 50 years.

Following the Littles' deaths in 1993, care for Cogswell's Grant has passed to

the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities. Since 1993, the

property has been closed for preservation work and a portion of the collection

has made a cross-country tour. On August 5, Cogswell's Grant will open to the

public for the first time.

The Littles began collecting decorative arts in the 1920s and for six decades

were the leading collectors and scholars of Americana in New England. Like

other great collectors of the period -- Henry Francis du Pont, Electra

Havemeyer Webb, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, and Edgar and Bernice Garbisch --

they collected objects for aesthetic value, but their real interest lay in an

object's historical value. Each piece was carefully documented and thoroughly

researched to reveal its maker, owner and other personal associations.

Nina Little shared her research through many publications, including 46

articles in The Magazine Antiques (more than any other contributor), and six

books and major catalogues. In Little by Little: Six Decades of Collecting

American Decorative Arts, she wrote, "It is a rare experience when a single

artifact is able to recreate in imagination the essence of a given historical

period."

The Littles chose the name Cogswell's Grant because the 165-acre farm is

roughly half of the original land granted to John Cogswell in 1636. The

present house was built by John Cogswell's great-grandson, Jonathan, around

1730. The Littles purchased the Eighteenth Century farmstead in 1937 and for

the next 50 years it served as both a setting and impetus for their growing

collection of New England folk art. In their choice of house, land, and

furnishings, the Littles created their image of the rural New England past.

On Spring Street, Cogswell's Grant is open for tours Wednesday through Sunday,

August 5 through October 15, 11 am to 5 pm. Guided tours are given on the

hour. Admission is $6; SPNEA members are admitted free. Telephone

617/227-3956.

Cogswell's Grant is one of 25 historic house museums owned and operated by

SPNEA.