house | Raven About The Parks

Overview

The only site in New Hampshire administered by the National Park Service (NPS) is dedicated to Augustus Saint-Gaudens, an Irish born immigrant that studied art in Paris and Rome. On this country estate he utilized beginning in 1885, he converted a barn into his sculpture studio. Other artists flocked to “Aspet” until his death in 1907.

Gaudens

Highlights

Home and sculptures of famous 19th-century artist, sculptor-in-residence program

Must-Do Activity

A tour ticket is required to enter the house and is included with your admission fee. While you are waiting, explore the many marble, plaster, and bronze castings of Saint-Gaudens’ work located around the property, including his famous Shaw Memorial whose original can still be found in Boston. A new cast of one of his Abraham Lincoln statues was added in 2016 during the NPS Centennial.

Best Trail

The quarter-mile Ravine Trail starts at the Ravine Studio, the workshop of the sculptor-in-residence. Blow-Me-Down Trail runs 2 miles between the Temple and a swimming hole.

Instagram-worthy Photo

Take a photo of “Aspet” house from the porch of Little Studio framed by the vine-draped arbor.

View of the house from the patio of the studio — Find this photo and others for sale on Imagekind

Peak Season

Summer as exhibit buildings are closed November through late May

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/saga/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

$10 per adult or America the Beautiful pass

Road Conditions

All roads paved, but parking is limited.

Camping

None at this park, but Mt. Ascutney State Park is short drive away across the border in Vermont.

Covered bridge connecting New Hampshire and Vermont

Tapestry inside Saint-Gaudens house

This historic cast of Abraham Lincoln by Saint-Gaudens was installed in 2016

Shaw Memorial can also be seen in Boston Common — The Shaw Memorial took Saint-Gaudens 14 years to complete. This cast was completed in 1997.

Tiff in the studio with a Diana sculpture also found on Madison Square Garden — Diana sculptures like this top Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Victory

Explore More – Why does the gift shop sell a stuffed animal goat named Seasick?

WONDON WAS HERE

Overview

Weir Farm National Historical Park is the only National Park Service site in the state of Connecticut. It is built around the art studios of Julian Alden Weir, an American impressionist painter that were later utilized by the Mormon sculptor Mahonri Young who made the This Is the Place monument in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Weir

Highlights

Free guided tour, free use of colored pencils/pastels, Artist in Residence program

Must-Do Activity

A unique opportunity the park provides is the use of colored pencils and pastels for each visitor to create their own artwork when they visit. In this way they continue to allow the farm to inspire artists to capture the landscape in their own way, regardless of age or ability.

Best Trail

Pick up a self-guided walking tour pamphlet at the visitor center then walk (1.5 miles roundtrip) to Weir Pond, where the family loved to spend time in the summer fishing, swimming, and, of course, painting.

Instagram-worthy Photo

Get into the artistic spirit by posing with your face to the window like Weir’s wife did for a portrait in the family’s living room that you can see hanging inside the house.

Peak Season

Open year round, but this was Weir’s summer home because that is the nicest time of year here.

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/wefa/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

All roads are paved, but Nod Hill Road is steep and narrow which may be difficult for RVs and other large vehicles. The small parking lot cannot accommodate large RVs.

Camping

None

Sketching at Weir Farm

These bison cutouts were painted and posted around the farm

A outside view of the sculpture studio

On the porch of the Weir Farm House Scott waiting on the front porch for our ranger guided tour inside the painter’s house.

One of the other artists that lived here was a sculptor

Explore More – Julian Alden Weir studied impressionism in the country it was founded in, where is that?

Raven About The Parks

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Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park

WONDON WAS HERE

Weir Farm National Historical Park

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