Thursday, June 17, 2010

russel wright and Manitoga

When most think of Russel Wright it immediately brings to mind dinnerware.  Although Wright's background was theatre design and sculpture, we most often think of him as the king of modern dinnerware.  His "American Modern" dinnerware line was originally produced in 1939, and the design is still pretty fresh today. 
(American Modern Dinnerware, circa 1939)

(Casual Line, circa 1946)

In 1942 he left New York City and bought a property in the Hudson River Valley that he named Manitoga.  Manitoga has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1996.  Here are some exterior shots.  It is amazing how much it is camouflaged into the surroundings...

Here are vintage pictures taken when Wright lived there.  I can't wrap my head around the scale of the dining room compared to that tree!
The gardens are amazing...we hope to one day trade in our kudzu garden out back for a lush tiered landscape and water feature like this. 
For more information and pictures, visit http://www.russelwrightcenter.org/

No comments:

Post a Comment