Chestnut Hill House Evolves into a Home for Art

Chestnut Hill House Evolves into a Home for Art 
By James Weaver

Some people have called it the “Addam’s House” because it resembles the house in the television show The Addams Family. Actually, no one knows where the name of the handsome Victorian mansion at the corner of Bells Mill Road and Germantown Avenue, Chestnut Hill, originated. Charles Knox Smith (1845-1916), a prominent Philadelphia businessman (oil brokerage and gold and silver mining in Mexico) and member of the Philadelphia Common Council (before it became City Council) acquired the house and grounds in 1901. Built sometime before 1867, it was already called “Woodmere” and the name stuck. Smith was the fourth owner. He was living in the city’s Kensington neighborhood at the time, but he was rapidly outgrowing his space. He had become interested in art and art collecting and his collection was growing.

Photos: Woodmere's Friday Evening Jazz Series - Marina Vishnyakova

Enjoy our pictures of Seine-suous Strings featuring jazz violinist Marina Vishnyakova and Paris for Kids: Circus Creatures inspired by the work of artist Alexander Calder.

Video: Reiko Okuda and Warren Oree at Cole Porter Night

 

Check out our short video clip of last Friday's Jazz performance. Pianist Reiko Okuda and bass player Warren Oree played music of the great American composer Cole Porter. 

Lectures: Paris 1910 to 1920: A Decade that Changed Modernism

Join Matthew Palczynski, (Staff Lecturer of Western Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art) for a lecture this  Sunday, April 17 from 1-4pm on Paris 1910 to 1920: A Decade that Changed Modernism.

Spend the afternoon in Paris. This pair of lectures will examine the School of Paris, during one of the most dynamic decades of modern art. We’ll examine the work of Picasso, Matisse, Brancusi, and Modigliani, among others, and discover why so many artists were drawn to the magnetic pull of Paris. Between lectures we’ll enjoy French champagne, coffee, and pastries.

• Lecture one: Picasso and Matisse
• Champagne break
• Lecture two: Brancusi and Modigliani 

$30 ($24 members)