Chesterwood

The estate covers 129 acre of forest and field in the Taconic Mountains, in the heart of the cultural region of the Berkshires. Most of the estate's buildings are clustered on the north side of Williamsville Road, including the house, studio, a 19th-century barn which has been adapted as a museum gallery and visitor center, and other small outbuildings. On the south side of the road are a c. 1860 farmhouse, adapted for use as a caretaker's residence, and a smaller studio space built by French to escape the sometimes busy atmosphere in the main studio. A path meanders through the woods to the north, which was supposedly used by French, and which is now seasonally decorated with sculpture by currently-active artists. The main block of the studio is essentially a cube 30 ft on each side, and enormous doors 30 ft high on the west side. It has a peaked ceiling, with a skylight on the north-facing roof section. A terraced area to the south includes a porch covered by a flat roof supported by Doric columns, and there is a large reception room on the north side where French would entertain clients and friends. This room opens to the east onto a garden with a fountain designed by Henry Bacon. To the west of the studio block is a small chamber from which waste materials from the studio can be dumped to the basement via a chute. The house is -story Georgian Revival structure. Like the studio, it is finished in a stucco that has been mixed with marble chips to give it texture. It has a hip roof which is topped by a low balustrade, and which is pierced by gable dormers on the front and rear elevations. Open porches are found on both side elevations, and the south-facing front has a broad terrace, providing fine views of the Taconic Mountains. The most notable interior room is French's study, which includes woodwork taken from the Warner farmhouse, and replicating the "best" parlor of his family's homestead in Chester, New Hampshire. The studio, barn and other gallery spaces include sculptural studies for a number of his works, most notably: • The Minute Man (1875), Old North Bridge, Concord, Massachusetts • Equestrian statue of George Washington (1900), Paris • Four Continents (1906), United States Customs House, New York City • Samuel F. Dupont Memorial (1921), the fountain at Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C. • Abraham Lincoln (1922) in the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C. • Illustration — Studio and garden • Illustration — Studio interior • Illustration — Studio detail • Illustration — Studio detail • Illustration — View from house • Illustration — French had tracks installed outside his studio so he could see how his sculptures looked in daylight