National Park Service
U.S.Department of the Interior
Weir Farm National Historic Site
735 Nod Hill Road, Wilton, CT 06897
(203) 834-1896
Wilton and Ridgefield, Connecticut: In the summer of 2011, Weir Farm National Historic Site commissioned New York photographer and former Artist-in-Residence Xiomáro to create a photographic record of the interiors of the Weir House, Weir Studio, and Young Studio. Xiomáro was tasked with documenting the present state of the buildings’ interiors, prior to the completion of the four-phase restoration project now underway.
A selection of these images comprise the new exhibit on display at Weir Farm National Historic Site titled Weir Was Here – Secret Rooms, Doors, and Windows, offering visitors a small glimpse into the historic structures while they remain closed to the public. All three buildings are currently empty, allowing Xiomáro the chance to focus on the details of these spaces — features that might otherwise go unnoticed in a fully furnished setting. This is the first artistic collection of photographs of the building interiors in the site’s history, and captures the beauty and texture of these intimate spaces. “There is a mystery and secrecy to these relatively empty spaces,” Xiomáro explained, noting how “the same eyes and hands that created works of Impressionism also unlocked these doors and opened the shutters to take in the inspiring landscape framed by the windows.”
Weir Was Here – Secret Rooms, Doors, and Windows can be viewed in the Burlingham House Visitor Center on Saturdays and Sundays, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., now through March 31, 2012. From April 1st through May 31st, the exhibit can be viewed Thursdays – Sundays, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Xiomáro will present five gallery talks about his photographs titled In the Footsteps of Weir from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. on the following weekends:
Saturday, January 7
Sunday, February 5
Sunday, March 4
Sunday, April 1
Sunday, May 6
There is no fee to participate in the gallery talks, but registration is required. For more information on the exhibit, or to register for one of the gallery talks, please call (203) 834-1896 x12.
To learn more about Xiomáro and his photography, visit www.xiomaro.com.
Weir Farm National Historic Site was home to three generations of American artists. Julian Alden Weir, a leading figure in American art and the development of American Impressionism, acquired the farm in 1882. After Weir, the artistic legacy was continued by his daughter, painter Dorothy Weir Young and her husband, sculptor Mahonri Young, followed by New England painters Sperry and Doris Andrews. Today, the 60-acre farm, which includes the Weir House, Weir and Young Studios, barns, gardens, and Weir Pond, is one of the nation’s finest remaining landscapes of American art. For more information about Weir Farm National Historic Site, please visit www.nps.gov/wefa or call (203)834-1896.
Xio's Xcribble 