For those of you who have attended one of my lectures on
Peabody & Stearns: Country Houses and Seaside Cottages this summer or fall, you will know that one of the elments of current architecture that has intrigued me is the number of times that contemporary architects have consciously called upon the iconic image of Peabody & Stearns' Kragsyde for inspiration. Kragsyde was built in Manchester-by-the-Sea, on the North Shore of Massachusetts, in 1884 for George Nixon Black. It was demolished shortly after Black died in 1928. Since then, and perhaps more specifically since its inclusion in Vincent Scully's book on The Shingle Style, it has influenced an increasing number of new houses. I see this as a recurring validation of the relevance of Peabody & Stearns' artistic vision.
Earlier this month I was perusing
New Architecture Maine Traditions (Joan Whitney Payson Gallery of Art, Westbrook College, Portland, Maine, 1983) and was pleased to find another residence to add to my growing list of Kragsyde supporters: the MacDiarmid House, designed by Maine architect Christopher Glass, and constructed in Camden, Maine, in 1977. Enjoy!
