The villa at Kykuit

A small overview of the Hudson Valley treasures can appropriately be started with the Rockefeller Estate, completed in 1913 for the founder of our university, John D. Rockefeller. The Rockefeller Estate (Kykuit, “lookout” in Old Dutch), located on the Pocantico Hills of Sleepy Hollow, was the country home to four generations of the Rockefeller family. Donated by Governor Rockefeller in 1979 to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the estate is open to tourists from April to early November. The estate, featuring a neoclassical revival style villa and gardens designed by architect William Welles Bosworth, is a nice treat not only for history lovers, but also for art aficionados due to its extensive collection of sculptures, paintings, and antiques. In addition to the classic art collections, an unusual highlight of the underground art gallery is the series of tapestries commissioned by Nelson Rockefeller based on his favorite paintings by Picasso. Although not quite Picasso, the tapestries were woven under the artist’s supervision.

Brâncuşi’s Bird in Space

The most impressive art collection at Kykuit is that of 20th century sculpture. Although Nelson Rockefeller made numerous gifts to museums, 120 of his finest collected sculptures remain at Kykuit. Brought to life in three-dimensional garden settings are works by European and American sculptors, such as Constantin Brâncuşi, Pablo Picasso, Henry Moore, Jean Arp, Alberto Giacometti, Alexander Calder, Isamu Noguchi, Louise Nevelson, and David Smith. Enclosed gardens, terraces at different levels, and pavilions are created to highlight each work. One of my personal favorites is the innocent, but still majestic appearance at the entrance of the house of one of Brâncuşi’s famous Birds in Space. The Rockefeller garden is considered the greatest American accomplishment of Bosworth, who also supervised the restoration of the palaces of Versailles and Fontainebleau and the cathedrals at Rheims and Chartres (projects all funded in large part by John D. Rockefeller, Jr.).

A visit to the estate also includes a tour of the coach barn, which houses a collection of classic automobiles and horse-drawn carriages. A warm spring or summer day is most suited for visiting the Rockefeller Estate, as it can get windy during the garden viewing. Tours start at Philipsburg Manor, from where a shuttle bus takes visitors to the estate. Purchasing tickets¹ in advance might be a good idea, as weekends can sell out.

One of the most charming and my favorite Hudson Valley treasure is Sunnyside, the home of Washington Irving, author of classics such as The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Rip Van Winkle, and The Alhambra. Located on West Sunnyside Lane in Tarrytown, the riverside house is set in an intimate romantic landscape, so well suited for the beloved national icon who was for “curing the world by gentle alternatives, not by violent doses”². Considered one of America’s early emissaries of style and taste, through his numerous travels Irving initiated many Americans in aspects of European culture, along with an understanding of America to Europe. Reflecting this intertwining of cultures, Irving’s house combines a stone cottage redesigned in a colonial New York style, and a tower inspired by Spanish monastery towers. The cozy rooms and the mixture of objects from Irving’s numerous international travels unfold a tangible biography of the author. In collaboration with his neighbor, artist George Harvey, Irving designed Sunnyside and its surrounding grounds to reflect his romantic view of art, nature, and history. Garden paths, trees, shrubs, and water features are arranged to appear natural and an exotic wisteria vine envelopes the house. The house and grounds were restored by Historic Hudson Valley to look as they did in 1850s, and opened to the public as a historic site in 1947. Since Sunnyside was the home of Irving descendants until the twentieth century, the house still displays original furnishings. Guides in Victorian dresses give tours of the house and host events throughout the year, such as celebrating Independence Day and organizing day camps and food festivals³.

Also located in Tarrytown is Lyndhurst, which although sometimes called Lyndhurst Castle is really a Gothic Revival mansion. Designed in 1838 by Alexander Jackson Davis for William Paulding (a former mayor of NYC), the villa underwent major transformations as it passed between owners of various statures (businessman George Merritt and railroad magnate Jay Gould). In 1961, the estate passed to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Although it gave me an impression of bought taste and mixed styles, the mansion provides an image of the evolution of fashion of the American high-class society during those years. A walk in the extensive grounds surrounding Lyndhurst is worthwhile, offering beautiful views of the Hudson River.

A real treasure of the Hudson Valley is the Union Church of Pocantico Hills. The simple stone country church appearance hides remarkable examples of modern stained glass art: nine windows painted by Marc Chagall, and the last work of Henri Matisse, the Rose Window, completed in design just two days before his death. While still housing an active congregation, the Union Church is now owned by Historic Hudson Valley and open to tourists⁴.

Although our guide for that day insisted that the past and present of Union Church are not strongly connected to or dependent on the Rockefeller family, its history gives us a few interesting stories to tell. In the early 1920s, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., a strong supporter of the ecumenical movement among American Protestant denominations, helped the Union Church congregation that decided to erect the present church building by funding the project and providing the tower and its bells in memory of Laura Spelman Rockefeller. The Matisse and Chagall stained glass windows were also commissioned as memorials by members of the Rockefeller family. David Rockefeller states that these windows carry a “very special significance to me and to the members of the Rockefeller Family”⁵. He also relates the story of Chagall, an expatriate Russian Jew who was one of the last artists to be rescued by the Emergency Rescue Committee, an American refugee organization established in the early 1930s, headed and funded by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. to assist artists and intellectuals facing oppression. The window of The Good Samaritan, commissioned in memory of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., is thought to represent a personal connection Chagall had to the parable of the good samaritan. A trip to the Union Church and its charming country settings is especially recommended.

If you do not get the opportunity to travel upstate, an exploration of American history can be pursued closer to home. The amalgam of NYC buildings of various ages and styles provides many architectural layers through which history is revealed.

Taking Irving’s advice from his words in the beginning of Tales of a Traveller, “If the tales I have furnished should prove to be bad, they will at least be found short; so that no one will be wearied long on the same theme,” I draw to a close this small overview of some American historic sites in the Hudson Valley.

References

¹ http://www.hudsonvalley.org/kykuit/index.htm

² Tales of a Traveller, Washington Irving.

³ http://www.hudsonvalley.org/sunnyside/index.htm

⁴ http://www.hudsonvalley.org/unionchurch/index.htm

⁵ http://www.hudsonvalley.org/unionchurch/learn__windows.htm