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Rare Light
J. Alden Weir in Windham, Connecticut, 1882–1919
Garnet Books
Edited Anne E. Dawson
Sales Date: 2016-03-15
Chronicling the artist's life in Connecticut's "Quiet Corner"
Winner of the Ruth Emery Award (2018)
Rare Light is a collection of essays exploring little known facets of the life and career of a major American Impressionist painter. J. Alden Weir (1852–1919) painted some of his finest canvases while living in Windham in eastern Connecticut's picturesque "Quiet Corner," and this rural location played a crucial role in Weir's artistic development. The four essays that comprise this book offer in-depth contextual information about the architecture, culture, environment, and history of the region, allowing us to see Connecticut as it appeared in Weir's lifetime. Interweaving photos, paintings, and letters—some never before published—Rare Light documents the artist's sense of Windham as a place for social gatherings, physical and psychic rest, and art making. Taken together, the essays celebrate the interconnectedness of art, architecture, family, history, and place. Includes essays by Charles Burlingham Jr., Rachel Carley, Anne E. Dawson, and Jamie Eves.
Preface—Anne E. Dawson
Acknowledgments—Anne E. Dawson
List of Abbreviations
Family Stories—Charles Burlingham, Jr.
J. Alden Weir in Windham, Connecticut, 1882–1919—Anne E. Dawson
Eastern Connecticut Landscapes and the Environment, 1882–1919: The Pastoral as Middle Ground—Jamie H. Eves
A House Unlocked: The History of the Baker-Weir Homestead—Rachel Carley
Selected Works by Weir Painted while Residing in Windham
Bibliography
Contributors
Index
ANNE E. DAWSON is a professor of art history at Eastern Connecticut State University. She is the author of Idol of the Moderns: Pierre-Auguste Renoir and American Painting.
"As time passes, we can choose to look or turn away, but if we are intrigued, we study them and can understand history and its links to our present, and are all the better for it. That is what this book does."
~A.C.V., Maine Antique Digest
"Rare Light adds granular context and interpretation for one of America's leading impressionist artists. Within a growing body of distinguished literature on American art, the volume sparkles with rich historical detail and fresh archival research. As editor and lead author, Anne Dawson makes a meaningful contribution to our knowledge of American impressionism through the lens of a finely focused study."
~Patricia McDonnell, Director, Wichita Art Museum
"This is the book we've been waiting for. While J. Alden Weir's home in Branchville, Connecticut, is well known, no in-depth study has been devoted to his life and work in Windham. This volume meets that need with insightful essays about Weir's beloved Windham home, studio, family, friends, and subject matter."
~Susan G. Larkin, author of The Cos Cob Art Colony: Impressionists on the Connecticut Shore
"Anne Dawson's study of J. Alden Weir in Windham, Connecticut, is richly researched and documented. Long overdue, it is a significant contribution to scholarship on both Weir and American Impressionism."
~Marian Wardle, editor and coauthor of The Weir Family, 1820–1920: Expanding the Traditions of American Art
"Rare Light adds granular context and interpretation for one of America's leading impressionist artists. Within a growing body of distinguished literature on American art, the volume sparkles with rich historical detail and fresh archival research. As editor and lead author, Anne Dawson makes a meaningful contribution to our knowledge of American impressionism through the lens of a finely focused study."
~Patricia McDonnell, Director, Wichita Art Museum