Advanced reservations required for visiting the Wharton Esherick Museum, and we chose the longer Esherick and Architecture tour. Esherick was classically trained in art in Philadelphia schools, but became an innovative and eclectic artist, eventually specializing in woodwork.
Wharton Esherick and his wife, Leticia Nofer, moved to the Paoli/Malvern area in 1913 to live off the land while practicing their arts (she was a dancer and weaver).
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| The Eshericks named their farm Sunekrest (pronounced Sunny-crest) with its 1839 farmhouse and a pole barn (supposedly built with telephone poles sunk into the ground) |
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| Diamond Rock Schoolhouse (1818) was closed in 1864, but renovations began in 1909; Esherick assisted with the renovations and was allowed to use the schoolhouse as his painting studio |
The Eshericks eventually had three children whom they home-schooled as Esherick believed a rote education would stifle creativity. In 1919, the couple with their three-year old daughter made a trip to Fairhope, AL to learn about the progressive education movement, drawn by Marietta Johnson and her School for Organic Education. In Fairhope, Esherick taught art and experimented with ceramics. It was also where he was introduced to woodworking.
After returning to Paoli, the Eshericks thought to establish their own school for organic education. On the ridge above Sunekrest, Esherick began building his studio. The studio expanded over 40 years to also become his residence, and other buildings were constructed.
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| Before the tour, we saw this outhouse in the lumber storage area |
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| A Sears catalog for "wipes" |
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| The tour began in the 1928 garage that also had storage space above for storing and aging lumber |
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| The garage door was guarded by a ceramic "conehead" that may have been one of the items he brought back from Fairhope, AL to sell as lawn ornaments |
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| Esherick was inspired by local architecture and created his own log cabin; however, you will note that he used a curved ridge board at the top of the roof, which allowed him to make one side of the roof concave ... |
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| .. and the other side more convex |
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| The garage is now the Visitor Center, and its restroom is considered an "outhouse" |
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| Unique sink and mirror (KSS) |
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| Along with this donation box, we are beginning to see that Esherick did not want to use right angles |
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| In 1956, Esherick worked with architects Louis I Kahn and Anne Tyng to build a workshop, which is essentially three connected hexagons (one is hidden by the garage) |
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| Once the builders began construction, Esherick insisted that the walls not be straight, rather they should curve inward |
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| The far end of the workshop, on the side with no windows that faced toward a Nike missile defense system battery fire control site just down the road on Horse Shoe Trail; or did he just want privacy? |
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| Esherick also did not want the corners of the buildings filled in, but left to look like dovetailing; Esherick himself installed pyramidal pieces in the openings so that water could drain out |
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| The south facing side of the workshop had plenty of windows |
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| Esherick was influenced by Rudolf Steiner, an architect (among many other things) who designed in an organic- expressionist style using forms from nature, and by Frank Lloyd Wright and his organic architecture that grew out of the landscape |
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| In later years, Esherick's daughter Ruth and her husband would live in the workshop, thus the addition of a kitchen |
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| Esherick designed the fireplace ... (KSS) |
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| ... and this is the chimney topped by a copper weathervane |
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| Because of the curved walls and varying-height ceilings, turnbuckles were required to hold it all together |
Esherick was assisted in his furniture-making by John Schmidt, an Austrian cabinetmaker, who was already skilled when he arrived in the United States at age sixteen. Schmidt was able to execute the unusual furniture designs of Esherick.
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| Esherick developed this bandsaw with Schmidt in the 1960s (KSS) |
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| Esherick-designed sofa |
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| Hmm, the cabinet matches the sofa! |
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| Some of Leticia's textiles |
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| Leticia made the children's clothing (KSS) |
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| The workshop bathroom (KSS) |
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| The astounding bathtub! (KSS) |
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| The "cornerstone" of the workshop (KSS) |
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| Next: the studio that began with the stone edifice (1926) on the left; later came the wood structure (1940-1947), and finally on the far right, the silo (1966) (KSS) |
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| The studio was built into the hillside using castoff sandstone from a local limestone kiln; Esherick was able to convince the stonemason, Albert Kulp, to use varied sizes and shapes rather than regimented square blocks |
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| A view of the silo side with the deck that is supported by conical pillars similar to those we have seen holding up local barn extensions (KSS) |
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| Looking back up the steps we descended to reach a lower level door |
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| A close up of the stone wall; it was reported that when a section of wall was built, Esherick would go out at night and scrape out the mortar between the stones to give them more definition |
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| The cornerstone for the studio |
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| The grand staircase that even divides to ascend in two directions |
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| A drop-leaf desk (1927) was one of the earlier pieces of furniture created by Esherick, with carved reliefs evoking nature |
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| The desk with the leaf "dropped" was built to store woodcut blocks, paper and prints |
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| This flat top desk (1929, 1962) was mainly built by John Schmidt, and originally had an aluminum top, soon to be replaced by a wooden one; Esherick was liable to sell the desk top right off the desk, so this top is dated 1962 |
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| The lamps over the desk are mounted arms that can be moved on a pivot |
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| The cabinet desk (1958) has a desk top that slides forward on its own groove, with other grooves for the neatly organized drawers |
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| Wagon-wheel chair, and beyond it are a pair of stools, all made by Esherick; apparently most of the chairs and stools were unique in design (KSS) |
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| Self Portrait (1919) (KSS) |
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| The Sculpture Well |
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| Tour participants going up the steps use a handrail that is a mammoth tusk |
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| A bedroom was added later over the studio space; the custom bed was raised so that Esherick could enjoy the view through the window, which included the skyline of Philadelphia before the trees grew |
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| Drawers under the bed hold neatly folded clothing |
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| One day Esherick's daughter told him they needed lamp shades on all their bare bulbs, because all her friends had them; so Esherick fashioned shades from materials that were at hand; the swallow was cut from the aluminum desk top |
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| Cabinet with a rounded front |
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| This cabinet has drawers with low sides |
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| Left-handed desk and a hammer handle chair (KSS) |
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| A telephone nook by the stairway; the space behind the telephone opens into the dining room |
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| Another "lamp shade" ( a pot lid) |
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| We are now in the wood structure that consists of the dining room and above was the bedroom of Esherick's son, Peter |
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| The floor was created with scraps of applewood and walnut |
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| The kitchen with a wood-fired oven is located in the 1966 silo |
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| The silo as seen from the deck gets it color from powder spread on stucco when it is still wet, and it seems in the season the colors blend with the fall foliage (KSS) |
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