Byrdcliffe Historic District | |
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| Location | Upper Byrdcliffe Way, Woodstock, Ulster County, New York |
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| Coordinates | 42°3′14″N 74°8′17″W / 42.05389°N 74.13806°W |
| Built | 1902 |
| Architect | Ralph Radcliffe Whitehead |
| Architectural style | Stick/Eastlake |
| NRHP reference No. | 79001643 |
| Added to NRHP | May 7, 1979[1] |
The Byrdcliffe Colony, also called the Byrdcliffe Arts Colony or Byrdcliffe Historic District, was founded in 1902 near Woodstock, New York by Jane Byrd McCall and Ralph Radcliffe Whitehead and colleagues, Bolton Brown (artist) and Hervey White (writer).[2][3] It is the oldest operating arts and crafts colony in America. The Arts and Crafts movement arose in the late nineteenth century in reaction to the dehumanizing monotony and standardization of industrial production. Byrdcliffe was created as an experiment in utopian living inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement.[4]
The colony is still in operation today and is located on 300 acres (1.2 km2) with 35 original buildings, all designed in the Arts and Crafts style. There is a self-guided walking tour through the compound as well as a hiking path that leads to the mountain top which gives way to scenic Catskill views.
Along with ongoing music, theater and art performances held in the Byrdcliffe Theater, Barn and on property lawns, The Byrdcliffe Colony hosts an Artist-In-Residence program that houses over 70 artists each summer who practice in a wide variety of fields and media. The program accepts writers, composers, and visual artists. Byrdcliffe maintains an exhibition and performance space in the heart of Woodstock, the Kleinert/James Center for the Arts, which hosts 6 or 7 exhibitions of primarily contemporary art annually.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
- ^ Genocchio, Benjamin (August 14, 2003). "100 Years Ago, When the Arts Found Woodstock". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
- ^ "Antiques and Art Online: "Byrdcliffe Arts Colony"". Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved September 3, 2007.
- ^ "A Historical Colony of Art: Byrdcliffe". Archived from the original on September 1, 2007. Retrieved September 3, 2007.