by Rachel Cutler, educator and resident artist

It was the second week of June when we began our preliminary plans for an outdoor summer art program for local children. Governor Lamont set forth policies for what day camps would like in Connecticut during the pandemic. Undoubtedly, these were unprecedented circumstances, but we felt confident we could create an educational, fun, and, most of all, safe program for our youth.

Our Director of Education, Kate Ebner, and I brainstormed the lesson plans and worked out the logistics. Then, we lovingly named our new creation “Summer on the Hill.”

The weeks flew by as we finalized the details, and soon enough, the first day of the program was upon us. I’ll never forget the looks of uncertainty on the young attendee’s faces as they stood masked and distanced in the Sunken Garden. While reading out the new rules, I also felt a twinge of anxiety. I had directed and led camps before, but none quite like this. Luckily, the uncertainty and nervousness were short-lived. Laughter filled the air as we raced towards the sheep pasture, material packets in hand to sketch out the landscape on that sunny July day.

It is incredible how quickly kids can adapt to circumstances. The students who participated in our program handled the new guidelines thoughtfully and graciously. They respected one another’s space and took full advantage of our sprawling grounds.

Our program helpers, Ben McGowen, a student from the University of Rochester; Annie Wertheimer, a Hobart College student; and Angela Yuan from Miss Porters, were attentive and upbeat. They brought smiles each day and successfully aided attendees at a distance. We were farther apart, but we still shared our love of art, humor, and experiences.

The program ran for four weeks in July and August on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 am to noon. During these mornings, students ages 9 to14 would gather and participate in a variety of activities. Each session would begin with a short hike and field sketching. Then we would create the masterpiece of the day, focusing on a new medium, whether that is watercolor, pastels, markers, pencil, and crayons. Fun games included one-minute modeling with goofy poses, create a new animal, and art jeopardy.

Summer on the Hill was such a success that it is now a seasonal staple: Our current program, Autumn on the Hill, is running until late October. Nature hikes, animal identification, outdoor art, and games compose each week!

Last week, I spent the afternoon hunting frogs with a group of nature savvy youngsters. It made me realize how important getting outdoors and having a little adventure can be!

If you would like to join our Autumn on the Hill program, please visit Autumn on the Hill.  Each week is a new theme and new adventure!

by Rachel Cutler, educator and resident artist

On Sunday, September 20, the trees around Hill-Stead were tinged with orange and red. With a slight chill in the air, it was a perfect day for painting. En Plein Air is the French term for creating art “outdoors,” and was popularized by the Impressionists.

Historically, the studio was the setting for most painting endeavors. Materials were not suitable for long hikes along the countryside. The “box easel” came into being in the mid 19th century, and artists ventured outdoors more frequently to paint, especially the Impressionists. They wanted to create art at the very moment they were looking upon a scene. They were capturing the essence, the impression of that moment.

Looking out at the West Lawn at Hill-Stead, one can draw a parallel to the rolling fields around Monet’s home in Giverny. The hills behind the trees are soft blue; the lawn is crisp and boasts an assortment of yellows, golds, oranges, tans, and greens. The trees are ablaze with autumn colors, creating a fantastic place to paint En Plein Air.

Guests arrived and found their favorite vantage points. Tables spread across the lawn with materials provided: canvas, paintbrushes, water cups, painting boards, and paints. With the guidance of Hill-Stead’s Education Specialist and local artist Rachel Cutler, aspiring painters learned about the advantages of working out in nature. The wind could blow over paint cups, leaves could drop into the paint, but it was worth these struggles to sit outside with friends and family, inspired by the local landscape. 

The event lasted two hours, and it was broken into two parts, hashing out basic shapes and colors first, then adding details. This process builds confidence for new artists as they bring their paintings to life; guests were happy to add their personality to their work.

Painting on the Hill drew inspiration from the French Impressionists’ belief in staying in the moment of celebrating spontaneity. In today’s times of turmoil and change, it is essential to appreciate the moment. Reflecting on the Impressionists, we can learn a lot about their determination to capture their local environment’s beauty and stay present during their work.

As we move into fall, we celebrate with more fun and inspiring events with our From the Porch Series. Don’t miss the many incredible performances and events we have lined up in the coming weeks!

By Dr. Anna Swinbourne

There is a spot in the drawing room, marked with an “X” in the nearby photograph, which is one of my favorites at Hill-Stead, if not the whole world. Standing on that spot, facing south to gaze at Monet’s haystacks in summertime, one can rotate clockwise to appreciate example after example of the magnificent paintings the Pope family acquired and installed in this room.

What is so very extraordinary about this particular arrangement is that within a single 360-degree rotation, the visitor can, through first-hand study of masterpieces, have a complete overview lesson in French Impressionism.

The introduction begins with the movement’s revered mentor, Edouard Manet, and his embrace of mid-19^th century ideas about modernism – namely that to be modern one must attempt to place their finger on the pulse and particularities of the Now, and in so doing, an artist can assure their importance and appreciation by future generations.

This quest for modernity was sought by Degas, albeit through deceptively created scenes. Looking at Dancers in Pink, I feel as though I occupy the artist’s shoes, standing at an easel set up backstage and observing these performers as they wait in the wings, when in fact Degas could not have occupied this spot, as no man other than ballet professionals were then allowed in such places. The painting was actually carefully and imaginatively constructed in his own studio, fusing individual sketches of young dancers he had hired to serve as models there.

Degas’s traditional practice of creating the painting in his studio was anathema to his Impressionist contemporaries, who carried canvas, easel and materials out of doors to paint before the actual motifs that inspired them, which we see in full glory in the exceptional pair of haystacks, exquisitely positioned at 12 and 6 o’clock.

In fact, pausing my clock-hands-self at either hour and turning to the other, I can, with every bit of my being, understand an essential Impressionist aspiration: to revisit the same motif repeatedly and under different conditions – of day, season, weather – in order to capture a fleeting moment. The low, pale light of haystacks in a winter frost versus those set afire by midday summer sun. Perfect.

And pausing to savor that perfection, my eyes fall on Monet’s seascape of Antibes over the fireplace, an exquisite ending note. Through their dozen years of exhibiting together, from 1874-1886, the young rebellious Impressionists accomplished what they set out to – upend established norms about the type of subject that could be painted, the techniques used to do so, and the opportunities for their work to be appreciated by others – then they went their separate ways. Monet’s soon led him to the south of France, where he found favorite spots of his own, like this one on the Mediterranean.