United States of America -- New York -- Dutchess County -- Millbrook
Scope and Contents:
The folders include worksheets, garden plans, correspondence, and photocopies of correspondence, articles, and brochures about the garden.
General:
Established in 1930, Innisfree was designed and built by Walter Beck, a scholar-teacher-artist who was influenced by ancient Chinese garden art. Innisfree explores a Chinese garden design concept called a "cup garden," which has origins in Chinese paintings dating back a thousand years. The cup garden draws attention to something rare or beautiful. This special object is segregated by establishing an enclosure around it so that it can be enjoyed without distraction. A cup garden may be an enframed meadow, a lotus pool, or a single rock covered with lichens and sedums. At Innisfree the visitor strolls from one three-dimensional picture to another. Streams, waterfalls, terraces, retaining walls, rocks, and plants are used not only to define areas, but also to establish tension or motion. Although the cup garden idea came from China, Innisfree is unequivocally an American garden. The lake is glacial, most of the plant material is native, and the rocks have come from the immediate forest.
Persons associated with the garden include: Walter and Marion Beck (former owners and landscape designer [Walter Beck] 1930-1960) and Lester Collins (landscape architect and president, Innisfree Foundation, 1960-1993).
Related Materials:
Innisfree Garden related holdings consist of 3 folders (81 35 mm. slides)
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Sponsor:
A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.
