b. 1875 d. 1953
Site Affiliation: Bush-Holley House
Born in New York City in 1875, MacRae joined the Art Students League of New York in 1895 where he attended classes lead by American Impressionist painter John Henry Twachtman. MacRae first came to the Holley House in Cos Cob, Connecticut for Twachtman’s summer class in 1896, where he fell in love with the daughter of the boarding house proprietors, Emma Constant Holley. Together, the newlywed MacRaes took over the running of the boarding house, which continued to be a bustling hub of artistic activity until 1920. In his prolific productivity, MacRae was also experimental, working with pastels, watercolor, wood carving and furniture making over the course of his career. MacRae was an instrumental early member of the Pastellists, as well as the Association of American Painters and Sculptors. As treasurer of the AAPS, MacRae was one of the primary organizers of the Armory Show of 1913.
Primary Medium: Painting
Primary Stylistic Term: American Impressionism
HAHS Affiliations: Painters who visited the Bush-Holley House also worked at the Lyme Art Colony (Florence Griswold Museum) and J. Alden Weir’s home (Weir Farm National Historical Park)
Fun Fact: Elmer Livingston MacRae loved ice cream, and called the cellar of Bush-Holley House “his ice cream parlor.”
Recommended Publications: The Cos Cob Art Colony: Impressionists on the Connecticut Shore by Dr. Susan G. Larkin (2001)