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Small Business Feature: Abroad Modern

Posted on May 20, 2020 by Meta Partenheimer

During these trying times for our community, we are committed to helping local businesses. To do our part, every week in May we have been highlighting locally-owned small businesses right here in Cambridge! Today, we will spotlight Abroad Modern along with the history of the building in which the shop is located at 260 Concord Avenue in Northwest Cambridge.

Concord Ave 260_001 — 260 Concord Ave, 4 August 1985. Photographer: Frank J. O’Reilly.

Although the storefront is closed, Abroad Modern is open for online business, and its founder is even offering free gloved-hand delivery to locals! “Modern utility sourced globally” is how owner and founder, Greer Goodman describes the products, sourced from India, offered in her shop. Goodman’s passion for her entrepreneurial goals is apparent: “…I started this business to help others, to partner with people around the globe and make space for a cultural awareness that will hopefully, in tiny but meaningful ways, make the world smaller and better.”

View the website here: https://www.abroadmodern.com/

The history of the building from which Abroad Modern is operated is as unique as the store itself. The property, which contains 360 square feet, is a remnant of a larger property that was divided when Appleton Street was laid out the it in 1871. The ‘heater piece’ or ‘gore’ as these leftovers were known, shows up in city atlases in 1894 as the property of Francis J. O’Reilly. In 1908, O’Reilly obtained a building permit to put up a one-story wood-frame store, 8′ wide on Concord Avenue, 30′ deep along Appleton Street, 4′ wide at the back, and 14′ high.

Concord Ave 260_survey — 260 Concord Ave, ca. late 1960s. CHC Survey.

The 1910 Cambridge Directory lists shoemaker Cosimo Carfagno as the occupant at 260 Concord. Carfagno operated his business from the small building until at least 1931, his last directory listing. The next directory, in 1937, lists the property as vacant and according to directories, remained so until at least 1972.

1930_bromley — Detail of 1930 Cambridge Bromley Atlas.

The adjoining property to the east, once the house and land of ice dealer H.H. Eames, was subdivided by his heirs in about 1900 into four house lots. Andrew N. Lewis, a carpenter, built houses on each lot, including the present house at 256 Concord Avenue once owned by Boston-based contractor Garrett Lambert.

Concord Ave 256-260 — 256-260 Concord Avenue, 20 August 1983. Photographer unknown.

The neighborhood lore is that this is a ‘spite’ or ‘grudge’ building. This may be a reasonable inference from the store’s proximity to 256 Concord Avenue, since one can easily imagine O’Reilly buying this otherwise useless property with the intent of selling it to the eventual abutter, but there is no documentary evidence to support this. In the absence of zoning, which was not adopted until 1926, many property owners were quick to put waste ground to any productive use, and it is equally logical that this structure was built by O’Reilly specifically for Carfagno to occupy as a shoe repair shop.

Concord Ave 260_002 — 260 Concord Avenue as seen from Appleton Street, 13 August 1983. Photographer unknown.

We hope you enjoyed today’s post, and we also hope you take time to explore the small businesses in your neighborhood!

Sources:

Cambridge Historical Commission survey file: 260 Concord Avenue

http://www.abroadmodern.com/pages/our-journey

Torn Down Tuesday: 280 Harvard Street

Posted on April 21, 2020April 21, 2020 by Meta Partenheimer

Happy Torn Down Tuesday! As a follow up to our Modern Monday Instagram post yesterday, today we are featuring the house that once stood at 280 Harvard Street in Mid-Cambridge.

PanasonicMECH=KV-S7075C
SIDE=F — 280 Harvard St, ca 1965-66 (Photographer: B. Orr)

The February 19^th, 1887 edition of the Cambridge Tribune stated that the home was commissioned by Mrs. Caroline Marshall, wife of Boston merchant Moses M. Marshall for their son, Moses Sylvester. The article included a detailed description of the house and it’s building materials:

The house is set slightly back from Harvard Street and the exterior is very handsome; a piazza extends around two sides with a tower at the corner. The brick chimney is outside and is decorated with terra cotta panels. The house is clapboard, with the exception of the tower, which is singled, and the roof is covered with Brownville slate. The windows are of plate glass, while the front door has stained glass. This front door is of cherry, which is the main material used for finish the other outside doors, however, being of pine, with five panels and raised mouldings. From the vestibule one enters a hall measuring 16×9. On the right of this hall is the parlor, finished in cherry, with a large bay window formed by the tower. Back of the parlor is the library, also finished in cherry, from which opens a well arranged conservatory.

On the left of the ball, through an arch, one enters the reception hall, with stairs, the latter of cherry, with a find landing measuring 11×9. Back of the reception hall is the dining-room, while in the rear of the house are the kitchen and pantries. A pleasing feature of this house is that almost every room in it contains a bay window. On the second floor are five chambers, bath-rooms, cedar closer for furs, and on the third story two chambers, a store-room and large billiard room, measuring 32×23. The house will be tastefully furnished and will have elaborate mantels.

It will be completed about the end of March. The architect is Mr. G. J. Williams of Boston, and the builders, Messrs. Mead, Mason & Co. of Boston.

280 Harvard was the first residence in Cambridge designed by architect. G.J. Williams. This was one of Williams’s only single-family projects in the city, and is more stylized compared to his simpler multiple-occupancy dwellings at 86-88 Webster Ave or 62-68 Plymouth Street, designed the same year as 280 Harvard. However, the house’s design was echoed in others built in the following years on Harvard Street, such as those at 284 and 298.

According to a piece highlighting Boston markets and their proprietors, Moses S. Marshall began working for his father’s meat market in 1878 at age 18 and by 1893 was a senior member of the firm. The company, Marshall and Taylor, operated from 28 North Faneuil Hall Market in Boston.

commonwealth_xp68kn03q_accessFull — Faneuil Hall, ca. 1860s (Boston Pictorial Archive, Boston Public Library)

Moses S. Married Grace Clark on June 18, 1884 and the couple had a daughter, Dorothy Frances, on February 8, 1889. The family attended the Austin Street Unitarian Church (demolished in 1949), and Mrs. Marshall held church sewing meetings at the family residence. After a long illness, Grace Marshall died June 26, 1903 at 42 years old. Moses Sylvester Marshall died of a cerebral hemorrhage on October 24, 1909, at 49 years old. Caroline Marshall became head of the family after the death of her son, and continued to live at 280 Harvard Street with her daughter, Ella Stimson, and three granddaughters, including Dorothy.

1888_Sanborn — Detail, 1888 Sanborn Atlas (mapjunction.com)

The house was later occupied by Suffragette Mabel A. Jones, and for many years was home to members of the Manning family. The house continued as a single-occupant dwelling, and for decades saw many residents come and go. The house was demolished in 1971 to make way for the 18-story apartment building that stands a 280 Harvard Street today. For more information on the current building, see our Instagram post from Monday, April 20^th.

Torn Down Tuesday: 8 Dana Street

Posted on March 24, 2020 by Meta Partenheimer

Raymond_statearchives — Massachusetts State Senator Zebina Lee Raymond (1804-1872), State Library of Massachusetts

Happy Torn Down Tuesday! Today we are featuring the two-story home that once stood at 8 Dana Street on the corner of Centre Street. Built in 1848, this elaborately ornate Italiante-style home was commissioned by the Honorable Zebina L. Raymond, a Senator and Mayor of Cambridge.

CambChron_1June1848 — Clipping describing Raymond’s house, *Cambridge Chronicle* (1 June 1848)

The house and land was purchased by Henry B. Ward in 1856 who in turn sold the house to merchant John S. Paine two years later. Paine’s Furniture Company was once the largest business of its kind in New England.

CambChron_7June1884 — Advertisement for Paine’s, Cambridge Chronicle (7 June 1884)

Paine executed many renovations in the home including new window treatments, gas fixtures, chandeliers, and carpets. The house was again renovated in 1891 when Paine contracted Wellington Fillmore to build a one-story addition.

The home was described in Survey of Architectural History in Cambridge Vol. 2: Mid Cambridge as follows:

Although the gable ends of 8 Dana Street have cornices carried across to form pediments in the Greek Revival manner, the rest of the detail is Italiante. The house is pictorial in effect, with much of its quality depending on the play of light and shadow across the wall surfaces and under the arcaded porches. (p. 53)

In 1911, owner Sterling F. Hayward contracted the well-known Cambridge architect John A. Hasty to complete alterations in the sum of $3,000–nearly $80,000 in today’s money. Hasty is also responsible for designing the Cambridge Mutual Fire Insurance building and “The University” apartments–both on Massachusetts Avenue.

In the 1920s, the building was purchased by Mary M. Collins and converted into multi-occupant housing catering to students and short-term tenants. The building was named Vernon Hall and offered dining options in addition to accommodation.

CambTrib_19Dec1925 — Ad for Vernon Hall, *Cambridge Tribune* (19 December 1925)

By the mid 1940s, the building was in use as a convalescent home and later classified as nursing/rest home. The house at 8 Dana St was demolished in 1975 to make way for an addition of that complex, now known as the Cambridge Rehabilitation and Nursing Center.

hopkins1886 — Detail of Hopkins Atlas showing location of 8 Dana St (1886)

Torn Down Tuesday: 29 Concord Avenue

Posted on February 4, 2020February 4, 2020 by Meta Partenheimer

Summerhouse_lot_1842_1 — *A True Copy of a Plan of the “Summer House Lot” in Cambridge Belonging to Harvard College Made by Alex. Wadsworth, Surveyor*. 26 Dec 1842.

In 1849, Daniel Treadwell purchased from Harvard College a section of land from what was then known as the summerhouse lots. Treadwell married Adeline Lincoln of Hingham in 1831 and in 1834 was appointed Rumford Professor and Lecturer on the Application of Science to the Useful Arts at Harvard.

Three years later, Professor Treadwell supervised the construction of Gore Hall (now demolished) to house the Harvard Library and devised a method of heating that building.

Treadwell was best known as an inventor, first manufacturing wooden screws. He later devised improvements to the printing press and was the first in the United States to produce the a sheet of paper printed by machine rather than by hand.

Treadwell_memoir2 — Page from *Memoir of Daniel Treadwell*, illustrating Treadwell’s process on improving the printing press.

Treadwell’s travels to England in 1835 may have influenced his choice of the Regency style for his first home, built by William Saunders in 1838. This building still stands, though it was moved from 48 Quincy Street to 21 Kirkland Street, and is now the Harvard Sparks house.

Sparks St 21 — Sparks House (December 1964)

Treadwell sold this house in 1847, and in 1849 hired Saunders again to build the house at 29 Concord Avenue. Treadwell had purchased The following is a selection taken from Susan Maycock and Charles Sullivan’s Building Old Cambridge (2016)

A few houses built in Old Cambridge during the 1830s and ’40s followed a form of the Classical Revival style that was related to the English Regency period of the early 1800s. These flush-boarded houses had cube-like massing, low hip roofs, and broad pilasters without capitals repeated across the facade. The conservative, academic style was found primarily in the Boston area but also occasionally along the Maine coast…The earliest Cambridge example is the house that William Saunders built for Daniel Treadwell in 1838.

Concord Ave 29 — 29 Concord Ave photographed by D. Bradford Wetherell, Jr. (1953)

Treadwell lived in the house until his death in 1872, and it was then occupied by Judge Horatio G. Parker and later owned by George H. Abbott, who made significant renovations to the property, including a pitch roof, addition of a billiard parlor on the east side and new interior finishes. Various other occupants lived in the house until it was demolished in 1959 to make way for the Continental Terrace apartments. For more information on this new building, check out our Modern Monday post from January 27th!

Sources

Susan E. Maycock and Charles M. Sullivan, Building Old Cambridge: Architecture and
Development (MIT Press, 2016)

CHC biographical files

CHC survey files

Wyman, Morrill. “Memoirs of Daniel Treadwell.” In Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, XI:334–35. Cambridge, Mass: John Wilson and Son, 1888.

Torn Down Tuesday: Prospect Skating Rink

Posted on December 10, 2019December 10, 2019 by Meta Partenheimer

According to the “Brief Notes” section of the Cambridge Chronicle from March 22, 1884, “Roller skating rinks are booming in Cambridge.” The June 14th edition declared “Everybody goes to the skating rink now.” At this time, a new skating rink was under construction at 30-50 Prospect Street in Cambridgeport.

At the time of the Prospect St rink construction, roller skating rinks were already under heavy use at Union Hall around the corner on Mass Ave and in Harvard Square, and a petition to erect another rink on Green Street was making its way through the city government.

Worcester skating rink, Worcester, Mass., undated. The bottom of the image reads “225 x 100 feet, floor 175 x 73 feet.”. Historic New England.

The economy of Cambridgeport was highly-industrialized, and included ventures in soap-making, musical instrument manufacturing, and confectioneries, among others. A steady influx of immigrant labor allowed these businesses to expand exponentially along with the population, which grew by nearly 10,000 each decade in the mid-nineteenth century. Residents new and old sought recreation to fill idle moments between work and daily obligations.

Roller skating guide (1884) Archives & Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut Libraries

The United States, and East Coast cities in particular, saw a surge in roller skating popularity after Medfield, Mass native James Plimpton patented an improved version of the roller stake that allowed for more steering control.

Pair of Roller Skates (with leather straps and metal buckles). Sarah Moore Field Collection, Historic New England

To meet this increased demand for skating venues, rinks were constructed at a furious rate during the late 19th century. Construction of rinks in Cambridge allowed residents the convenience of leisure and recreation in their own city rather than making the trek into Boston.

Wood engraving after a sketch by Miss Georgie Davis titled “District of Columbia – glimpses of life at the national capital – a fashionable roller-skating rink” (1880)

The Prospect Skating Academy, as it was known, held a grand opening in May 1884. The ceremony and ensuring party included music by the Cambridge Orchestral Society and “an exhibition of fancy skating.” These events were held frequently, and often included an evening of full entertainment. Costume parties,

Advertisement in the *Cambridge Chronicle* (3 October 1885)

Despite the rink’s popularity, the building was razed just ten years after it was built, replaced by a row of three-story retail stores in 1895.

A fire destroyed most of this newer building in 1948, and as a result, the complex was converted to the one-story line of retail stores that stands today. Current businesses include Improv Boston, Jimmy’s Shoe Repair, and The Boston Tattoo Company.

30 Prospect St following the fire in December 1948

30 Prospect Street (July 2018). Google Street View

Torn Down Tuesday: Prest-O-Lite

Posted on October 29, 2019February 14, 2024 by Meta Partenheimer

Welcome to Torn Down Tuesday where we feature buildings in Cambridge that have been demolished. Today we highlight the building that once stood where the Fresh Pond Mall is located today: 541 Concord Ave, the Prest-O-Lite industrial complex.

Aerial views: Prest-O-Lite complex at 541 Concord Ave (1947 and 1948)

Businessmen Carl Fisher, James Allison and P.C. Avery started Concentrated Acetelyene Company (later changed to Prest-O-Lite) in Indianapolis in 1906 with the plan to manufacture portable cylinders containing compressed acetylene.

Motor Vehicles – In Use – Model 18-F three-speed twin, Prest-O-Lite attachment with side car. Photographer: Harley-Davidson Motor Co., 1917-1918 (NARA)

The cylinders would allow drivers of motorcycles and automobiles to operate headlights on their vehicles via a sparking switch.

Advertisement from *Scientific American* (6 January 1912)

The company invented this technology before the use of electric lights, which were pioneered by Cadillac in 1912. In 1920, the Prest-O-Light Company obtained a permit to build a plant in Northwest Cambridge. The complex would include 13 buildings with the purpose of producing acetylene for use their line of products.

1930 Bromley Atlas image showing location of Prest-O-Lite complex

Bordered by Concord Ave and Alewife Brook Parkway, the site was originally marshland and later owned by the New England Brick Company. Construction for Prest-O-Lite was carried out by John T. Scully Co. builders, a company that had completed large projects for companies such as Simplex Wire & Cable Company and lumber dealer E. D. Sawyer. Like many industrial buildings of Northwest Cambridge from this period, the buildings were of an extended form and low scale.

Clipping from *Cambridge Chronicle* (7 August 1920)

North Cambridge was composed of prime agricultural land during the colonial period, while West Cambridge began as a swath of grazing land before evolving into a fringe industrial area during the 19th century. Up until the mid-twentieth century, much of the area was still composed of industrial or commercial properties.

Image of Prest-O-Lite fire, unknown source (1952)

Prest-O-Light operated in North Cambridge for over three decades without major incident. However, at 1:15pm on the day after Christmas 1952, an explosion of 200 gas cylinders rocked the neighborhood and shattered windows up to half a mile away. It was reported that the multi-colored flames rose 200 feet over the building and the ensuing smoke was visible from 20 miles away.

Aerial image of Fresh Pond Shopping Center, Patriquin Collection (1984)

Just a few years after the massive fire, the Prest-O-Lite complex was razed in 1959 to make way for the Fresh Pond Shopping Center, which was developed in 1962. Check out our Instagram post to read more about the Fresh Pond Shopping Center!

Sources:
Krim, Arthur J. Survey of Architectural History in Cambridge: Report Five: Northwest Cambridge. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1977.
https://www.firstsuperspeedway.com/articles/prest-o-lite
https://www.firstsuperspeedway.com/sites/default/files/Prest-O-Lite.pdf
https://cambridgehistory.org/research/cars-in-cambridge-by-doug-brown/

Torn Down Tuesday: 91 Washington Ave

Posted on September 10, 2019 by Meta Partenheimer

Usually, once a building is demolished, it is gone forever. In today’s Torn Down Tuesday feature, the house that burned was constructed alongside a twin neighbor that still stands, allowing us to enjoy its ornate architecture today. These houses are described in Susan E. Maycock’s and Charles M. Sullivan’s book, Building Old Cambridge.

“The 1870s produced the most flamboyant Mansards in Old Cambridge, with great flexibility of plan and silhouette, a profusion of architectural ornament, and bay windows soaring into Mansard-roofed towers. Much of the greater freedom in architectural detail may be attributed to the widespread use of wood-working machinery. High wages for craftsmen after the Civil War impelled builders to use cheaper machine-made instead of hand-carved architectural decoration in all but the most opulent commissions.”

Washington Ave 91 demolished 1940 — 91 Washington Avenue, ca. late nineteenth century (demolished in 1940)

“Forms were often reduced to geometric shapes that machines could reproduce. Many of the new decorative elements were turned on a lathe or cut with a jigsaw and then nailed together, because ornamentation composed of separate parts could be more elaborate than if carved from a single piece of wood. Machines also facilitated popular details, such as chamfered edges and incised linear designs on exterior ornament and interior marble mantels.”

Washington Ave 81_1960s — 81 Washington Avenue, 1960s

“On one of the highest spots in the city, a profusion of detail enhanced opulent twin mansions built side by side in 1871 for Henry J. Melendy and D. Gilbert Dexter, partners in a boot and shoe business in Boston. Dexter’s house burned in 1939, but Melendy’s at 81 Washington Avenue remains in remarkably original condition.”

Washington Ave 81_1966-67 — 81 Washington Aveneue, 1966-67

“The projecting entrance pavilion displayed a great freedom of design in the elaborate jigsawn and routed scrollwork, bargeboard, brackets, pilasters, and recessed dormers. A dramatic concave-roof cupola crowned the patterned slate roof and offered a spectacular view of Boston. The attention to detail continued on the interior with high ceilings, ornate woodwork, and patterned wood floors.”

Washington Ave 81 DSC_0950 — 81 Washington Avenue, 2009

For more information about the development of Old Cambridge, contact us at histcomm (@) cambridgema.gov or consult Building Old Cambridge by Susan E. Maycock and Charles M. Sullivan.

Torn Down Tuesday: The Rand Estate

Posted on August 13, 2019 by Meta Partenheimer

On June 9, 1855, the Cambridge Chronicle declared that “No part of our city is improving more rapidly at the present time than that part known as North Cambridge.” Among the citizens listed as building new structures was carriage-builder Benjamin Rand, then in the process of erecting a house on Elm Street along the Somerville border.

Elm St 112 Rand estate — Rear view of Rand’s house and estate

Early deeds show that the land was owned by David Goddard, a wheelwright, and that there was a blacksmith shop on the North Avenue (later Massachusetts Avenue) end as early as 1802. In 1810, Goddard sold a shallow lot along North Ave to Joseph Kent, a blacksmith living in Charlestown, who had earlier purchased the shop but not the land. In 1812, Kent, now listed as a blacksmith in Cambridge, sold the same lot and blacksmith shop to Benjamin Rand, chaisemaker in Cambridge. In 1821, Stephen, Benjamin, David, and Sarah Goddard sold the land behind the blacksmith shop to Benjamin Rand, stretching his land to Elm Street.

The two western portions of the blacksmith shop make up the only building that show on the 1854 Walling Map of Cambridge. In 1946, it was described as “an interesting two and a half story hip roof house…facing Massachusetts Avenue.”

In contrast to the house above, the new construction on Elm St was characteristic of the Italiante style. Here the center hall plan is emphasized by an entrance pavilion with a heavy cross gable. The most prominent feature of the composition is the massive projection of the cornice, which casts strong shadows and forms a determined break between the rook and walls. The wide front door is framed by paneled pilasters and shielded by a substantial hood carried on brackets.

Elm St 112 Rand house — 112 Elm St ca. 1870s

The greater plasticity of massing in this house is further emphasized by bay windows on each end facade. The upright composition, set on a granite foundation and low terrace uncompromised by foundation shrubbery and set off by a trim cast iron fence, is a textbook example of American suburban dwelling at mid-century.

wisteria_gazebo — Wisteria on the Gazebo at the Henry Harry Seaton Rand Estate (2 June 1892), by Henry Lathrop Rand. Southwest Harbor Public Library.

Benjamin Rand died in 1859, and his will probated in 1860 left his household furnishings to his wife Rebecca, all the lot with the buildings to his son Henry C. Rand, who had been born in the house, and the remainder of his property in trust for the benefit of his wife and grandson, George R. Wade. Henry was a leather dealer in Boston with a storefront at 45 Merchants Row in Boston. Cambridge-based business Curtis Davis & Co soap-makers occupied a neighboring storefront at 21 Merchants Row.

45_Merchants — Henry C. Rand & Co. – 45 Merchants Row, Boston (31 March 1902), by Henry Lathrop Rand. Southwest Harbor Public Library.

Henry’s son, Harry Seaton Rand worked as a clerk at his father’s business. Following Henry C.’s death on 29 March 1910, the property was left to Harry Seaton.

Henry Harry Seaton Rand in Gloucester (30 May 1892), by Henry Lathrop Rand. Southwest Harbor Public Library.

Henry Seaton married Mabel Malwhinney in 1909 and both lived the rest of their lives on the expansive estate. Harry died in August 1946, and Mabel passed away a few years later in August 1950. The couple had no children, and sought to leave the estate, its trappings, and their personal property to a party that would care for the land in perpetuity, possibly as a museum or park.

Bromley1916 — Detail of the Rand property on the 1916 Cambridge Bromley Map

The Rand estate was known and recognized by Cantabrigians for its expansive grounds, lush gardens, and pristine landscaping. Detailing the beauty of the grounds, the 2 August 1935 issue of the Cambridge Chronicle wrote:

“…there is much to be told about the architectural landscape features of the interior which is laid out with pleasant walks, well-kept lawns, expansive flower gardens, arbors, trellises and shrubbery, while numberless stately trees of various kinds provide caverns of cool shade in hot weather. A large greenhouse supplies a wealth of flowers and plants used for decoration. A restful calm creeps over one who is privileged to inspect these premises, which also furnish a splendid sanctuary for birds. The estate is enclosed in a high wooden, slat, fence, bordered inside by a thick foliage which obscures the view of passersby except here and there a peep hole enables one to catch some of the hidden beauties of the place.”

Elm St 112 Rand Estate c 1885 — 112 Elm St ca. 1885

Both the City of Cambridge and the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA), now known as Historic New England, were offered the real estate as a gift, though neither party possessed the resources to maintain the aging property, and it was passed on to the general estate. In 1952, the property was cleared to make way for what is now the Porter Square Shopping Center, which opened to customers in 1957.

Porter Sq Shopping center 1960 #4 — Porter Sq Shopping Center, 1960

For more information on the Rand Estate, please contact us at histcomm @ cambridgema[.]gov. For more information on the Porter Square Shopping Center, please see our Instagram post: https://www.instagram.com/p/B1ET72pguUu/

Sources:
The Cambridge Chronicle
Cambridge Historical Commission architecture survey files
Survey of Architectural History in Cambridge Vol. 5: Northwest Cambridge (1977)

Maud Morgan: Artist, Teacher, Friend

Posted on April 22, 2019May 13, 2020 by Meta Partenheimer

Much of the text from this post was provided by the Cambridge Women’s Heritage Project

Morgan_MFA — “Maude Morgan” photographed by Jamie Cope (1993). Gift of Jamie Cope to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in honor of Maud Morgan

Born in New York City, Maud Cabot graduated from Barnard College in 1926 and traveled to Paris to study at the Sorbonne. She did not begin to paint until she was twenty-four, when she met her future husband, the artist Pat Morgan, in the late 1920s in Paris. In 1929, the couple moved back to New York, where she studied at the Arts Student League.

Following her studies, Morgan worked with Abstract Expressionist Hans Hofmann and began to exhibit at galleries in New York. In 1938, Morgan had a successful show at the Julian Levy Gallery, known as a haven for Surrealist art as well as experimental film and photography. During the show’s run, paintings by Morgan were sold to the Whitney Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).

MM_whitney — “The Old Mill” by Maud Morgan, ca. 1930-1940. Whitney Museum of American Art, 42.33

In 1940 she and her husband moved to Andover, Mass, where he taught art at Phillips Academy, and she began to teach at the nearby girls’ boarding school, Abbot Academy. The couple had two children. In 1957, Morgan separated from her husband and moved to Boston. A few years later she moved to Cambridge, where she lived and painted for the rest of her life.

CambChron2April1964 — Clipping from the *Cambridge Chronicle*, 2 April 1964, depicting Maud Morgan and her winning painting “Candelabra” from the 20th Annual Spring Exhibition of the Cambridge Arts Association

Morgan continued to exhibit in New York, primarily at the Betty Parsons Gallery, where she was included in joint exhibitions with Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Robert Motherwell, and other notable contemporary artists. Morgan had two retrospective exhibitions, 1967-1968 at the Fitchburg (Massachusetts) Art Museum, and 1977 at the Addison Gallery of American Art.

NautiqueSSX — “Nautique SSX” by Maud Cabot Morgan, 1974. Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, MA, gift of Victoria M. Benedict, 1977.168. This screenprint was exhibited in Maud Morgan: A Retrospective Exhibition, 1927-1977, Addison Gallery of American Art

The addition of an artist’s studio at her 3 Howland Street residence was designed by Yugoslav-American architect Alexander Cvijanovic in 1962.

Howland St 3_plan1

Howland St 3_plan2 — Proposed Addition to the Residence of Mrs. Patrick Morgan, 3 Howland Str Cambridge, Mass. Alexander Cvijanovic, Designer. June 12, 1962

Cvijanovic was a graduate of the Harvard Graduate School of Design and later became a partner in The Architects Collaborative (TAC) as well as a close associate of Walter Gropius. The studio addition was demolished in 2004.

Howland St 3_survey_img — The artist’s studio at 3 Howland Street in 1965

Howland St 3 Maud Morgan's studio (demolished by new owner) Fred Meyer photo — The artist’s studio at 3 Howland Street ca. 2004

Cvijanovic’s wife, Maria, remembers that her husband very much enjoyed working on the project, after which the couple and Morgan became life-long friends. Following the commission of her studio, Morgan gifted the couple one of her paintings–a piece that still hangs in their home today.

Alex_C — Alexander Cvijanovic in his apartment in front of the two pictures of the Amberg “glass cathedral.” This building was the last planned together by Walter Gropius and Cvijanovic, his partner. Photo: Peter Geiger (*Mittelbayerische*, 2016)

In 1970, after her divorce was final, Morgan spent six months in Africa. She returned to Cambridge and lectured on art at Harvard and MIT and taught at Lesley College’s Institute for the Arts and Human Development.

SS35559_35559_38038503 — “Green Hazard” by Maud Morgan (ca. late twentieth century). Lawrence University Wriston Art Center Galleries Collections

According to Morgan’s Getty record, the artist was known as “Boston’s modernist doyenne,” leaving a legacy spanning 80 years worth of skilled and complex works “from abstracts to still lifes and self-portraits as well as collages.”‘

light_img — Still from “Light Coming Through” (1980). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejtD-8r94Ls

In 1980 a film about Morgan’s art, “Light Coming Through,” by Nancy V. Raine (Producer/Co-Director) and Richard Leacock (Co-Director/Cinematographer) was released. The film premiered on October 21 at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and was later shown at MoMA in New York and the Place Pompidou in Paris.

AAA-AAA_mcinrobe — Maud Cabot Morgan, ca. 1950 / unidentified photographer. Robert G. McIntyre papers, 1903-1957. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

In her eighties and nineties, she continued painting, displaying continuing creativity. She received an Honor Award in 1987 from the Women’s Caucus for Art. Since 1993 the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, which holds a number of her significant paintings, has awarded the Maud Morgan prize yearly to a mid-career woman artist from Massachusetts.

AAA-AAA_ceelrobe_19691 — Maud Morgan with self portrait, ca. 1990 / unidentified photographer. Robert and Jonatha Ceely papers regarding Maud Morgan, 1976-2000. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution

In 1995, at the age of ninety-two, she published an autobiography, Maud’s Journey: A Life From Art. She died four years later in Cambridge and was buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery. An art museum and gallery, Maud Morgan Arts, has been constructed in her honor.

MM_VAC — Maud Morgan Visual Arts Center, located behind the Agassiz Baldwin Community Center at 20 Sacramento Street. Photograph © 2010, John Horner.

Sources:

Maud (Cabot) Morgan – Cambridge Women’s Heritage Project
Die Spurensuche führte bis nach Boston
Union List of Artist’s Names – Maud Morgan

Katharine Weems: Sculptor

Posted on March 13, 2019March 13, 2019 by Meta Partenheimer

Weams1 — Katharine Lane Weems, circa 1915 / unidentified photographer.

Sculptor Katharine Lane Weems was born into a wealthy Bostonian family on February 22, 1899. After studying art at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts from 1918 to 1922, Weems became one of the most highly-recognized animal sculptors of her era.

Weams7 — Katharine Weems with ‘Dolphins of the Sea’, ca. 1975 / unidentified photographer.

Her observations of animals, as seen through her meticulous sketches, underscore her dedication to representing an animal’s biological makeup. In doing so, she conveyed their physicality in stunning reality.

Weems’s work can be viewed throughout the Boston area, from the Lotta Crabtree Fountain on the Charles River Esplanade to the Dolphins of the Sea at the New England Aquarium. She donated a collection of 30 bronze animal sculptures to Boston’s Museum of Science, demonstrating the connections between sciences and the arts.

Weams5 — Elephant frieze on the biology lab at Harvard, not before 1933 / Paul J. Weber, photographer.

Her largest project was a commission for the Biological Laboratories at Harvard University, now the Harvard University Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB). The project included carved bronze doors at the lab entrance, a series of wildlife friezes, and two large bronze rhinoceros scultpures standing guard on either side of the doors of the lab.

Weams3 — Katharine Lane Weems at work on ‘Rhinoceros’, circa 1935 / unidentified photographer.

Named Bessie and Victoria, these rhinoceros sculptures were modeled after two female rhinoceri Weems studied at the Bronx Zoo. Both are composed of bronze and weigh 3 tons each. After years of work, Bessie and Victoria were unveiled on May 12, 1937. Despite this great accomplishment, Weems’s work was given little local fanfare.

Weams4 — Katharine Weems being introduced at the unveiling ceremony for her rhino sculptures at Harvard, 1937 May 12 / Harvard Film Service, photographer.

Weems continued to sculpt and create art throughout her long life. She later married her longtime friend Fontaine Carrington “Canny” Weems in 1947. Katharine Lane Weems died in Rockport Massachusetts on February 11, 1989.

Weams6 — Katharine Ward Lane Weems seated with a dog, circa 1935 / unidentified photographer.

Images and captions come from the collection Katharine Lane Weems papers, 1865-1989. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.