The History of Byrdcliffe Art Colony with Henry T. Ford

Whitehead House at Byrdcliffe

Henry T Ford, Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild Board Historian, and Director Emeritus, will present a talk on the historic Byrdcliffe Art Colony. Mr. Ford will give a Powerpoint presentation discussing the social and creative impact of the Arts & Crafts Colony, founded by Ralph Radcliffe Whitehead and his wife Jane Byrd McCall, Bolton Brown, and Hervey White, in 1902.

Englishman Ralph Radcliffe Whitehead (1854-1929), founder of Byrdcliffe, came under the influence of art critique John Ruskin (1819-1900) while attending Oxford University.  Ruskin exposed him to the concept of an “ideal community,” where useful and well made products could be created by artists to bring beauty to everyday life. Whitehead moved to America in 1892 and there met Jane Byrd McCall (1858-1955), who would become his wife. While working at Jane Addams’ Hull House, a center for social reform in Chicago, they befriended Hervey White (1866-1944), who was looking to begin an artist’s community. Bolton Brown (1864-1936), founder of the arts department at Stanford University in California, and a painter, became acquainted with the two men. In 1902 they hired him to return to his native state of New York to search for a suitable site to establish an art colony. While climbing to the top of Overlook Mountain in northern Ulster County, Brown became enchanted with the natural scenery of the valley below him, which included the hamlet of Woodstock.

Whitehead approved and purchased 1,200 acres of land for an art colony that he would call “Byrdcliffe” (combining parts of his name with those of his wife’s). The construction of buildings to be used as artist residences and studios began shortly thereafter. Workshops for furniture-making, metalwork, pottery, and weaving, along with a photography studio, were all included in the building scheme. The idea was that the colony would sustain itself through the sale of hand-made furniture while creating an environment that would inspire resident artists. Sadly, furniture production proved unsuccessful because Whitehead insisted upon a hand-made product that rejected the use of machinery, making the pieces too expensive. Instead, the colony turned to ceramics and other decorative arts as a means to support itself. Today, Woodstock village continues to be a mecca for artists. Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild, WAA & Museum and Maverick Concerts, Inc., still exist at their original sites.

Reservations suggested

Members of UCHS free

General Public $15