Public Open House On December 3—

Ten Years At Weir Farm: The Tradition Continues

WILTON/RIDGEFIELD — The National Park Service at Weir Farm National Historic Site and Weir Farm Trust have created an exhibition called “The National Park Service, Ten Years at Weir Farm: The Creative Tradition Continues.” On view until March 31, 2001, in Weir Farm’s Visitor Center, the exhibition celebrates Weir Farm’s tenth anniversary as a National Park Service Site.

Features of the exhibit include a timeline of the life of the artists J. Alden Weir, Mahonri M. Young and Sperry Andrews, and a timeline of the development of Weir Farm into a National Park Service site. Also included are works from five former Visiting Artists, highlights of cultural landscape and building restoration projects, and future plans for the site including a new artists’ studio to be located in a rehabilitated structure.

Weir Farm is the only National Park Service Site in Connecticut, and the only Park Service Site in the country dedicated to an American painter.

Weir Farm National Historic Site preserves the summer home and workplace of Julian Alden Weir (1852-1919), a leading figure in American art and the development of American Impressionism. The house, studios, farm buildings and landscape integral to Weir’s artistic vision survive largely intact, making it the finest remaining example of American Impressionism.

The 18th Century farm has been used continuously by artists since 1882. Guided tours include Weir’s studio and sculptor Mahonri Young’s 1930s studio where Young worked on the monument “This is the Place” and the “Brigham Young” statue now in the United States Capitol in Washington D.C. The site continues to be a source of artistic inspiration, and the house, studios, farm building and landscape integral to the artists’ vision survive largely intact.

Donated Bust Adds

To Historic Celebration

Weir Farm National Historic Site recently received a donation from Weir Farm Trust of a bust of the artist Mahonri M. Young. “Portrait Head of Mahonri M. Young” was created by the sculptor Spero Anargyros.

The renowned sculptor and artist Young (1877-1957) lived and worked part-time at Weir Farm from 1931 to 1957. At Weir Farm, Young developed his important work, the monument “This is the Place,” which commemorates the 1847 westward trek of Mormon pioneers and their settlement of the valley of the Great Salt Lake. Spero Anargyros was Young’s assistant from 1944 through 1947 on the massive project.

Mahonri M. Young was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and was a grandson of Brigham Young, one of the founders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The Young bust  was donated to Weir Farm Trust by Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.

Mahonri Young of Watermill, N.Y. (a grandson of Mahonri M. Young) and George Lay of Stratford provided financial support for the bust’s creation. The bust will be on display at Weir Farm in the Mahonri Young studio, which is accessible to visitors during guided studio tours.

Entry to Weir Farm is at 735 Nod Hill Road in Wilton, and the property straddles the Wilton-Ridgefield town lines.

Weir Farm’s visitor center is open Wednesday to Sunday, from 8:30 am to 5 pm, with tours of the historic art studios at 11 am, 1 pm and 3 pm. Tours include Weir’s studio and Young’s 1930s studio where Young worked on the “This is the Place” monument.  For further information call 203/834-1896 or visit the Web site www.nps.gov/wefa.

Holiday Open House

Sunday, December 3

The public is invited to join the National Park Service at Weir Farm and Weir Farm Trust on Sunday, December 3, from 1 to 4 pm, to celebrate the site’s annual Holiday Open House. This is the only day of the year the Weir house itself is open to the public.

Volunteers will serve as hosts and guides in the Weir house and studios, providing tours of the historic spaces. Light refreshments will be available in the Burlingham House Visitor Center. Admission is free.

Please note in advance there is no parking at Weir Farm during the Holiday Open House. All parking will be at Branchville Elementary School, on Florida Road off Routes 102 and 7 in Ridgefield. A free continuous shuttle bus will be provided between the school and Weir Farm beginning at 12:30 that afternoon.

Weir Farm Trust is a private, non-profit organization that works in partnership with the National Park Service to enrich public understanding and enjoyment of the site, to perpetuate its artistic tradition, and to ensure its long-term preservations.