Art and mid-century modern design enthusiasts alike will enjoy visiting the Frelinghuysen Morris House & Studio in Lenox, MA. The historic home and studio of two famous artists has been preserved as it was during their lifetime.
Fans of mid-century modern design and abstract art will likely recognize the names of Suzy Frelinghuysen and George L.K. Morris. The two artists were instrumental in the rise of abstract art’s popularity in America. They also maintained a home and thriving studio, here in the Berkshires. A home and studio filled with their art and furnishings that you can tour!
Even better yet, the historic house and studio are less than 5 miles from The Inn at Stockbridge!
A Little History
George L.K. Morris (1905 – 1975) was an American artist and writer, best known for his Cubist sculptures and paintings, as well as promoting abstract art during the 1930s and 40s. Suzy Frelinghuysen (1911 – 1988), was an American artist and opera singer. The two artists married in 1935.
George Morris inherited the property in Lenox from his family, and built his studio there in 1930. Morris took inspiration from Le Corbusier while designing the studio and it is one of the oldest Modernist buildings in Massachusetts.
The house, a two-story stucco and glass block structure, was added in 1941, after Morris and Frelinghuysen married and is considered an early example of Mid-Century Modern architecture. Cost overruns forced Morris to sell a Picasso, “The Poet,” to Peggy Guggenheim, who used it to jump-started her museum in Venice.
The couple lived and worked in the house and studio up to their deaths. Morris passed away in 1975, the victim of an automobile accident. The couple’s home and studio, complete with original furnishings and artwork, were preserved as a museum after Suzy Frelinghuysen’s death in 1988.
Visiting the Frelinghuysen Morris House & Studio
The Frelinghuysen Morris House is a Bauhaus-inspired, two-story stucco and glass block Modernist structure that stands in stark contrast to its Gilded Age neighbors.
The house and studio embody the artistic and stylistic innovations of Modernism and remains unchanged since the couple’s lifetime. Inside you’ll find a foyer cloaked in locally sourced marble and an Argentinean leather floor in the living room.
Furnishings include works by Modern masters like Frankl, Deskey, and Aalto. You’ll also see artworks by Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris, Georges Braque, Joan Miro, and Henri Matisse. Frelinghuysen and Morris also contributed their own work, in the form of frescoes and murals, on the walls of the house.
The Frelinghuysen Morris House and Studio is located at 92 Hawthorne St. in Lenox, MA, less than 10 minutes away from our Berkshires bed and breakfast, The Inn at Stockbridge.
The museum is open 10am to 4pm, Thursday through Sunday, June 23 to Columbus Day. Visit frelinghuysen.org for more information. You can also find the museum on Facebook.