Thursday, November 28, 2013

Boscobel, West Point & Terry Town

Today we visited Boscobel, which is a beautiful estate over looking the hudson river.  The house is a wonderful example of the Federal Style of American architecture.  The house was built in the early nineteenth century by States Dyckman who was a decedent of the Dutch settlers from Manhattan.  I love visiting these historic homes, I adore their classic architecture and interior designs.  I especially loved the delicate ornamentation on the front facade, it's gorgeous!




This is the view from the house, these pictures do not do it justice.  It was the most serene, peaceful landscape, I could have studied it for hours.  After seeing a scene like this, I totally understand the hudson river school of art's style of painting on a whole new level.


The estate has quite a few different gardens, we got to see the rose gardens and the apple orchards, they are beautiful surroundings for such a charming house.



After our time at Boscobel, we took a tour of West Point Military Academy, while cruising the Hudson River.  Originally, we were supposed to take a walking tour of the Academy, but the lovely government shut down made it so that was no longer an option.  I rather enjoyed touring it from the river, it was relaxing.  It's such a huge facility, a walking tour would have been exhausting. 








After our Hudson river cruise, we continued down the valley to Shady Hallow.  Here we took a tour of the magnificent Kykuit, the Rockefeller Mansion.  The picture below is from when we took our first tour of this amazing estate back in 2010.  I took so many pictures during that visit and the weather was so much better.  We also had a more inclusive tour the first time around, so I didn't take any pictures this time.  CLICK HERE to view my post about this amazing mansion.  Trust me, you want to see what this place is like.

As you can tell the weather was rather gloomy and dark during this visit to Sleepy Hallow.  I am so glad I had visited before, because it really is quite a charming little town.  CLICK HERE to see my post of what we did last time we visited.  Again, you'll be glad you did, because we had a lot of fun last time!

On our way to our hotel in Terry Town, our guide told us she had a little surprise visit for us.  I love surprises!  We stopped off at this tiny church, kind of in the middle of nowhere, to see something amazing.....


... Windows done by CHAGALL and MATISSE!  What a hidden treasure.  This church is called the union church of Pocantico Hills and has 9 windows created by Marc Chagall and the last work Henri Matisse completed before his death, a beautiful rose window.

The design for this rose window was Matisse's last work of art before his death in 1954. The commission, spearheaded by Nelson A. Rockefeller, honors the memory of his mother, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. Mrs. Rockefeller, one of the founders of the Museum of Modern Art, admired Matisse, collected his work, and entertained him in her home in New York City.

The glorious Good Samaritan window by Marc Chagall, the centerpiece of this humble church, is a memorial to Abby Aldrich Rockefeller's husband, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Their son David Rockefeller masterminded the commission in 1963, which later expanded to include all eight windows in the nave of the church. They memorialize, among others, Michael Clark Rockefeller, Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller, Peggy Rockefeller (Mrs. David Rockefeller), and Mary Rockefeller (Mrs. Laurance Rockefeller). Chagall and members of the Rockefeller family carefully selected the subject matter for the windows from Biblical texts.







1 comment:

  1. Wonderful pictures of Boscobel, my favorite historic home in America...the colored leaves of the oak tree were so perfect to bring out the unusual mustard yellow of the home with its white trim. Loved it.

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