The New York Times: "An unorthodox look . . . photographs, commissioned as artworks . . . focus on striking details."
These photographs, commissioned by the National Park Service in 2011 and 2014, are the first to artistically document the studio of Mahonri Young before and after its restoration. The studio is located at Connecticut’s first national park site, Weir Farm National Historical Park. Young (1877-1957) was the son-in-law of Julian Alden Weir, a renowned founder of American Impressionist painting.
But Young was also a prominent painter and sculptor in his own right as part of the Ashcan School. The style is characterized by a gritty urban realism with dark palettes and gestural brushwork to capture the emotional impact and harsh realities of working class life. The photographs are created to evoke Young’s aesthetic. They reflect his hardscrabble career of creating monumental sculptures and ennobling etchings of American pioneers and workers.
The studio features a high ceiling for accessing his monumental sculptures. Interesting patterns are formed by the lines of the catwalks, railings, support posts, stove pipe, and paneling. Small sculptures, cast iron stoves, paint splatters, abstract forms created by water damage, and other shapes punctuate the overall symmetry and earthy tones.
More information about Mahonri Young is available in the book Weir Farm National Historic Site (Arcadia Publishing).
All photographs are available for exhibition and purchase. Contact Xiomaro
Archival snapshots are courtesy of Weir Farm National Historical Park.
Any image or text or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever – including any and all uses in connection with artificial intelligence technology – without my express written permission. Violators will, and have been, prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Xiomaro logo by Azul Burger. Photos of Xiomaro by Barbara Cittadino.