Yaddo in Saratoga Springs
Merry Christmas from Lucy and Sophie at Yaddo in Saratoga Springs.
Yaddo has been one of my favorite places to visit since I was a child. The gardens are open to the public. However winter is the only time of year when German Shorthaired Pointers can run wild around the place. Many, many people visit the gardens in the summer. That would freak Sophie out!
I took this picture of the "Winter" statue in the summer. There is one statue for each of the four seasons. When my mother used to take me to Yaddo, the gardens were not well cared for and it seemed a very spooky, yet magical place. There has been a lot of work done on the statues, fountains and gardens since then and it is no longer spooky, but there is still something magical there.
I especially loved Yaddo when I was young because I knew it was a place for artists to work. Even as a child, I knew I wanted to be an artist. I used to look up at the house and wonder what it was like to be in such a grand house. Now I attend the Yaddo Benefit every summer and actually get to go in the house and hear great music or writing by artists who have stayed there.
The history of the house made visiting there even more special. Yaddo was the home of Spencer and Katrina Trask in the late 1800s. It was their special place away from the noise and business of city life. They had 4 children there but sadly they all died. Their youngest daughter could not say the word "shadow" when she looked at her reflection in the fountain at the bottom of the hill where the mansion stands. She said "Yaddo" instead. This is how the Trasks came to call the estate Yaddo.
By 1900, the Trasks had no heirs to whom they could give Yaddo. Katrina Trask had a vision of talented artists walking the lawns of Yaddo "creating, creating, creating." The Trasks then decided to give Yaddo to the city of Saratoga Springs for use by future generations of artists. Writers, artists, and composers have been invited to stay at Yaddo ever since. Many of these creative people have gone on to become famous in their areas of work. You have probably already heard the music of Aaron Copeland and may have seen paintings by Clyfford Still. When you get older, you will read stories by Truman Capote. All these and many other artists have lived for weeks or months at Yaddo. We all can thank the Trasks for their gift to the future of the arts.
You can learn more about Yaddo by visiting www.yaddo.org.
I especially loved Yaddo when I was young because I knew it was a place for artists to work. Even as a child, I knew I wanted to be an artist. I used to look up at the house and wonder what it was like to be in such a grand house. Now I attend the Yaddo Benefit every summer and actually get to go in the house and hear great music or writing by artists who have stayed there.
The history of the house made visiting there even more special. Yaddo was the home of Spencer and Katrina Trask in the late 1800s. It was their special place away from the noise and business of city life. They had 4 children there but sadly they all died. Their youngest daughter could not say the word "shadow" when she looked at her reflection in the fountain at the bottom of the hill where the mansion stands. She said "Yaddo" instead. This is how the Trasks came to call the estate Yaddo.
By 1900, the Trasks had no heirs to whom they could give Yaddo. Katrina Trask had a vision of talented artists walking the lawns of Yaddo "creating, creating, creating." The Trasks then decided to give Yaddo to the city of Saratoga Springs for use by future generations of artists. Writers, artists, and composers have been invited to stay at Yaddo ever since. Many of these creative people have gone on to become famous in their areas of work. You have probably already heard the music of Aaron Copeland and may have seen paintings by Clyfford Still. When you get older, you will read stories by Truman Capote. All these and many other artists have lived for weeks or months at Yaddo. We all can thank the Trasks for their gift to the future of the arts.
You can learn more about Yaddo by visiting www.yaddo.org.
posted by Lucy and Sophie Travel New York! @ 12:10 AM
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