Frelinghuysen Morris House & Studio

ABOUT

This Bauhaus-inspired 1930’s and 40s Modernist structure was the home and studio of Suzy Frelinghuysen and George L.K. Morris, painters and founding members of the American Abstract Artists. They championed American abstract art and collected the 20th century’s greatest abstract art, including works by Picasso, Gris, Matisse and Leger. Their house embodies the artistic and stylistic innovations of Modernism. It is an immersion in the challenging and inspiring world of these pioneering Modern artists.

SPECIAL RESOURCES

“It is possible that Modern art is simply a record of humanity trying to find its way…”

— Suzy Frelinghuysen

“Abstract pictures do not spring from pure invention but are often linked, however remotely, with the artist’s visual surroundings.”

— George L.K. Morris, 1941

Suzy Frelinghuysen (1911–1988)

Suzy Frelinghuysen was born in 1911 in New Jersey and descended from a long line of clergymen and politicians. She was educated at Miss Fine’s in Princeton and privately tutored in art and music and made childhood trips to Europe. In 1935, she married Morris who encouraged her painting and in 1938 became the first woman artist to have a painting placed in the permanent collection of the Museum of Living Art. Her principle interest remained music and after WWII she auditioned for the New York City Opera and became an instant success, singing the lead roles as a dramatic soprano in Tosca and Ariadne auf Naxos under the name Suzy Morris. She toured opera houses and recital halls in Europe and the United States. Her career was cut short with her retirement in 1951 after a bout of bronchitis. She began painting full time again, achieving some of her finest works.

She died in 1988 in Lenox, Massachusetts and left instructions in her will that the house and art collection be used to further the understanding of abstract art in America.

George L.K. Morris (1905–1975)

George L.K. Morris was born in 1905 to a wealthy and prominent American family which included a signer of the Declaration of Independence and signer of the Constitution, diplomats and statesmen. After his education at Groton and Yale, Morris traveled to Paris in 1929 where he met Picasso, Braque and Brancusi. In 1935, he married Suzy Frelinghuysen and in 1936 became one of the founding members of the American Abstract Artists. Morris admired the geometric order of Cubism and was insistent that art should be made for its own sake and not to reflect social causes like the popular Social Realism of the 1930’s. His role as an editor and art critic of the Partisan Review furthered his influence as abstract art advocate. In 1941, Frelinghuysen and Morris built their Bauhaus inspired house onto the studio and incorporated frescoes into the walls. In the 50’s Morris’ paintings of receding checkerboard patterns anticipated Op Art and in the 60’s he enjoyed his greatest success in the art world. Morris was fatally injured in an automobile accident in Stockbridge, Massachusetts in 1975.

_{Suzy Frelinghuysen as Tosca. Photograph courtesy of Frelinghuysen Morris House & Studio.}

_{George L. K. Morris in the studio. Photograph courtesy of Frelinghuysen Morris House & Studio.}

_{Photograph courtesy of Frelinghuysen Morris House & Studio.}

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This building, with its stark white planes and glass blocks, stands out from the nearby Gilded Age “cottages” built as summer retreats. It was the home of Suzy Frelinghuysen and George L.K. Morris, two artists who were major figures in the rise and acceptance of abstract art in America, a phenomenon that gradually shifted the center of avante garde art from Europe to the United States. The Frelinghuysen Morris House & Studio displays significant modern paintings, frescoes, and furniture in its original context – the home for which it was intended.

After his education at Groton and Yale, Morris traveled to Paris in 1927 with artist and collector A.E. Gallatin, a distant cousin, where he met Picasso, Braque and Brancusi. Two years later he returned to study in the painting studio of Fernand Léger and Amédée Ozenfant. In 1930 he built his studio on the grounds of his parents’ country estate in the Berkshires and based its design on that of Ozenfants’, which was designed by Le Corbusier, already well-known as a force behind the Bauhaus. Morris made more trips to Europe in the 1930’s, collecting European abstract art, often from artists he knew. In 1936 he became one of the founding members of the American Abstract Artists. His role as an editor and art critic of the Partisan Review furthered his influence as an advocate for abstract art. Morris also purchased for the fledgling MoMA in his role as Chairman of the Advisory Committee.

Frelinghuysen, descendant of a long line of New Jersey clergymen and politicians, trained as a painter and a singer. She was the first woman to have her painting acquired by the Museum of Living Art. She and Morris married in 1935. Her career as an operatic soprano for the New York City Opera thrived from 1947-51 (“Tosca” was a favored role) and precluded painting. After her retirement from the stage, she returned to painting. Frelinghuysen and Morris continued to paint and exhibit until they died.

In 1941, Morris chose a local architect, John Butler Swann, to design a house which would be integrated into the existing studio. Swann admired Modernism and had spent time in the indigenous buildings of Arizona and New Mexico. A two-story stucco and glass block house with a colorful mural by Morris connecting the house and garage was built. Cost overruns forced Morris to consign a Picasso, The Poet, for sale. Peggy Guggenheim bought it for $4,500 and jump-started her museum in Venice. Local marble from Lee, MA was used in the foyer, and an Argentinean leather floor was placed in the living room. Frelinghuysen and Morris enrolled in the Art Students League in New York City to learn the ancient art of fresco. Morris executed the frescoes in the living room; Frelinghuysen created her designs in the dining room. Frelinghuysen and Morris chose furniture by Modern masters Frankl, Deskey, and Aalto to complete the harmony of art, architecture, and design.

IN COLLABORATION WITH THE NATIONAL TRUST