“Window Seat”, 14×18, acrylic © 2009 Michelle Basic Hendry
Featured at the McMichael Autumn Art Sale, October 23-25, 2009
The McMichael Show opens at the end of this week. I will be at the Gallery from 6 -10 pm on Friday, October 23rd. I hope to see many of you there! The will be free parking on the opening night event. Details can be found on my website.
The Livingstone House
“Window Seat” (above) and the “Yellow Door” (below) are both from a derelict farm house near Bracebridge that was originally owned by a Scottish immigrant and carpenter, Neil Livingstone. Mr. Livingstone came to Muskoka in around 1861 at the age of 40 and died here of pneumonia in March of 1905 at the age of 84.
“Yellow Door”, 14×18, acrylic © 2009 Michelle Basic Hendry
Neil Livingstone was a skilled carpenter and became a prominent contractor of public buildings in the Town of Bracebridge before the turn of the century. He was responsible for the original Registry Office in 1877 and for the completion of the Town Hall in 1881. Only the Tower from the original Town Hall remains today. Livingstone also won the contract for the completion of the Dominion Hotel. It is still standing, however, I am under the impression that only the main floor is in use. I would love to get a look at the upper floors!
Livingstone House © 2009 Michelle Basic Hendry
Without looking at the records, there is mention of a building permit for a house on the Livingstone property in 1891. The 1879 Muskoka Atlas shows two building there previous. I am going to guess that they were a barn and a homestead and that the house built in 1891 is the one that stands today.
Looking at the architectural detail on the house, I was not surprised to discover Mr. Livingstone was a carpenter. There are very few rural homes in this area with such great attention to detail, a curved staircase with a complicated arched ceiling and stunning hardwood that is rock solid even after nearly 15 years exposed to the elements. Most farmhouses in this region were very basic and without much detail. Farming in Muskoka was often an impossible business due to the rocky terrain, so few would have had the wealth to build a brick house with so much elegant carpentry.
Livingstone House © 2009 Michelle Basic Hendry
I have yet to make the trip to the Land Registry Office to determine who inherited the house in the early part of the last century. I am hoping to discover if Neil Livingstone had any children. There is no mention of them in local publications, nor mention of a wife. For me, there is a distinct female aura about the place. It makes me curious to know who else lived there before the farm was sold to commercial interests. That information should be in the next Newsletter in mid to late November.
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I will be continuing my Muskoka Interiors series over the coming months. I plan to have another from the Fleger House by the end of November. New events, plans for 2010 and paintings will be in the November/December issue of my Newsletter. You can sign up to receive the newsletter here!
Just amazing work, Michelle.
It would be silly to drive all that way to see you! I am exhausted after CranFest.
Your family must be proud!
Thanks Jenn!
I know there will be some people driving from as far as Huntsville, so I am excited if someone wants to take the trouble to visit me there. I am sure with all that there will be to see it will be an art lover’s paradise!
Hi Michelle,
I drive through Kleinberg most workdays as I live in the area. If I’m not in Muskoka I will surely drop by.
FYI – There is a cool Norval Morriseau original in the front window of the little art shop in town.
Wish I could be there to see your work in person. Congratulations on the show!
Alan
It certainly looks like a really cool building! I love “Window Seat,” too. Very well done!
Wonderful pieces…it looks as though there are still a few paintings left in Livingston House!!! Good luck with your show!!!
Cheers
I missed your show 🙁
Someday, someday, I will get to one, I do hope, and in the meantime, I will continue to haunt your blog and view work in the lesser form of the internet.
The tattered walls, and broken windows seem particularly apt for the season; beautiful melancholy spaces.
Just love this Livingstone place. Even the name “Living stone” isn’t that cool! It makes me wonder who originally came up with that family name and WHY? Especially since most people don’t consider stone to be living. The name, for me, is as romantic as the place. If I had the time and money it would be just magic to fix up this place to exactly what it once was. So much soul is take out of building/homes nowadays. Few have this beauty and elegance…romance that many homes used to. And you KNOW I love the two paintings. Window Seat really tugs hard on my heart. Beautiful and deeply emotional…so many emotions. Hugs, Robin
Michelle,
Your paintings and photos are stunning! I really like these windows and doorways… Thanks for leaving your insightful comment on my blog, who would have thought there’s any association between the film The Stone Angel and Hopper’s Cape Cod Morning. You’ve a beautiful site here which I’m sure I’ll come again often to explore. Hope this is the beginning of some mutual visits! And I’m glad I’ve found a fellow Canuck too!
Thanks for the wonderful comments. Great to see you all and some new faces here!