With its proximity to the cultural hub of New York City and its quieter suburban and rural landscapes, Connecticut was fertile ground for artists and writers in the period of Modernist movements between 1913 and 1979. Many of these cultural figures are well known through biographical and critical studies. Creative Places seeks to show how place played a significant role in creative work, and how in turn the artists and writers influenced communities in Connecticut.
Frank Townsend Hutchens
Painting/Drawing
1869 – 1924
Early member of the Silvermine artist community, Hutchens was a landscape artist and portrait painter instrumental in the development of Silvermine.
- Biography/Description of Work
Frank Hutchens studied with Irving R. Wiles and Frank DuMond at the Art Students League and in Paris where he was a member of the Paris Association of American Artists. In 1922, he exhibited at the Babcock Galleries, New York, a show which featured a noteworthy painting of breakfast on the porch of his Connecticut home. In 1909, Hutchens and his wife had moved to rural Norwalk in what became the Silvermine colony. He purchased the so-called Old Mill at auction and turned it into his home and studio, calling it the Red Mill. Working with John Kenneth Byard, the two men assembled acreage and renovated derelict buildings to create a welcoming setting. Hutchens showed regularly in Silvermine group shows and occasionally used his own home as an exhibition gallery.
- Sources view
- http://www.canandaiguaschools.org/academy.cfm?subpage=2917, http://www.askart.com/askart/h/frank_townsend_hutchens/frank_townsend_hutchens.aspx, http://norman.hrc.utexas.edu/bookshopdoor/signature.cfm?item=108#1, http://www.redferngallery.com/artistbio.php?at=FrankTownsendHutchens, http://www.redferngallery.com/artistbio.php?at=FrankTownsendHutchens, http://americangallery.wordpress.com/2009/09/23/frank-townsend-hutchens-1869-1937/, http://www.silverminetavern.com/history.htm
- Associated Resource(s)