Ask Joan of Art

Dear Joan of Art,
Where can I find a comprehensive list of American art colonies and information about them? 

Dear Visitor,

Many artists are happily pursuing their craft at summer art colonies, so your question is well-timed. Here are some resources to get you started.

You can track the following references through your local public or university library:

Jacobs, Michael. The Good and Simple Life: Artist Colonies in Europe and America (Oxford: Phaidon, 1985).

Roos, Michael. "Artists' Colonies on the Internet," Drawing vol. 20, no. 2 (Winter 1998–99): 50–51.

Shipp, Steve. American Art Colonies, 1850–1930: A Historical Guide to America's Original Art Colonies and Their Artists (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1996).

Thompson, John. Artist Colonies (New York: Center for Arts Information, 1986).

You may also wish to visit the Fine Arts Forum on the Web at http://www.msstate.edu/Fineart_Online/art-resources/. At the bottom of the page under the heading "miscellaneous" you will find a link to artists' communities.

You can continue your research by utilizing magazine indexes, such as Art Index and Art Bibliographies Modern. Try using the subject heading, "artists' colonies."

Here is a sampling of article citations:

Denenberg, Thomas Andrew, and Tracie Felker. "The Art Colonies of Old New England," The Magazine Antiques vol. 155, no. 4 (April 1999): 558–65.

Gordon, Alastair. "Village Voice (William Merritt Chase's Shinnecock School of Art and the Art Village, Long Island, N.Y.)," Art and Antiques vol. 8 (May 1991): 91–95.

Zieselman, Ellen. "The Founding of the Taos Art Colony," American Art Review vol. 11, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1999): 176–81.

I hope this helps with your research.

Sincerely,
Joan of Art

Pictured: Old Lyme, a town on the Connecticut coast, has hosted Henry Ward Ranger, John Henry Twachtman, and many other well-known artists. This Old Lyme group portrait comes from the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Peter A. Juley & Son Collection.