Farmington Historical Society Welcomes 2011

by Irene Van

Charles Leach, M.D. discussing the painting, “Approaching Storm” by Robert Brandegee

Another year of “preserving the town’s history and educating the public about its significance” was celebrated at the Farmington Historical Society’s New Year’s Gala on Sunday, January 9.

FHS President Jean Pickens welcomed members, who filled each room of the compact Gridley-Case Cottage at 138 Main St.

Past President Dr. Charles Leach, a retired cardiologist and clinical professor of medicine at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, captivated the audience with an insightful talk about Farmington artists, and the society’s newly restored painting by Robert Brandegee, Approaching Storm (1890). He transported the audience back to the late 1800s with slides of the beautiful treatment of the many Farmington landscapes painted then and stories of the artists living here at the time, making Farmington somewhat of an art colony. The focus of the talk was on the work of Robert Bolling Brandegee and Charles Foster.

Brandegee lived at 36 High Street in Farmington and taught art at Miss Porter’s School from 1880 to 1903. In 1892 he was a cofounder of the Society of Hartford Artists, later assisted in forming the Connecticut League of Art Students and inspired the creation of Farmington Magazine. Foster lived and worked in Farmington for many years and had a studio at the rear of 42 Mountain Road.

Portrait of Robert Bolling Brandegee by Cecelia Beaux (1917)

“Almost exact contemporaries, these two excellent artists were perfectly suited to live and work in Farmington. Though very different in personality, they respected each other’s work and loved the beautiful little town and its surrounding countryside. Foster liked to work peacefully alone in his mountainside studio, while Brandegee and his family lived on High Street and were very engaged in Farmington life. Robert Bolling Brandegee was a kindly, hospitable man who shared his talents in music, poetry, natural history as well as art. He was not a self-promoter – very unassuming, though respected by the “Greats” of the American art world as a first class talent. He truly represents the spirit of the dear lost Farmington of the early 1900s,” said Leach.

Several of Brandegee’s paintings are on display at the Barney Library.

View future events on the Farmington Historical Society calendar.

Pickens also announced the historical society will host a Farmington Women Honoring Farmington Women luncheon again this year. The luncheon will be held March 25 at noon at at the Farmington Country Club.