Art in Silvermine

By Susan Gunn Bromley  and Ed Vollmer

In 1906, internationally known Western sculptor Solon Borglum and his wife Emma, a jeweler, purchased a small working farm by the Silvermine River on the road to Wilton. They converted the barn into a sculpture studio/barn with space to keep a family cow. The open main floor became the sculpture studio. A large new north facing window provided natural light with which to work. In the summer of 1908, the first year of the art colony, Borglum offered his studio to as a meeting place for The Silvermine Group of Artists also known as  The Silvermine Art Colony. His studio provided a Sunday morning meeting space and in late August it became their Summer Exhibition gallery. This arrangement lasted for fourteen years, until 1921, the year before Solon Borglum died. Borglum, a leader of the colony died in January of 1922.

The colony continued to work together after Borglum’s death. They moved the annual exhibition to “The Village Room,” a space that moved around Silvermine and was used for theatrical productions.

Much had changed in Silvermine after WWI. The area was increasingly populated by creative and artistic families, as well as, commuters. The Silvermine artists wanted to broaden their mission to include teaching and other forms of arts. They wanted a community center that furthered these goals and included a year-round exhibition space and additional studios. The organizational and planning meetings took place in Leo Dorn’s home and Dorothy Byard’s studio. They enlisted John Kenneth Byard to draw up the corporation papers and were able to purchase a large barn with property in the Silvermine section of New Canaan. The corporation papers were filed in November of 1922.

 The 1909 Silvermine Group of Artists’ Exhibition, Solon Borglum’s studio/barn. 

The Silvermine Group of Artists had a significant impact in turning  Silvermine into the active vibrant community that it is today. Because of the colony’s interest in fostering new and modern artistic directions, musicians, writers and actors, as well as others, found a welcoming place in the community and helped it to grow. In the early twentieth century the proximity to New York, the Modern Art world, affordable housing, diverse rural landscape, creative connections and the welcoming local population allowed the community to flourish creatively. The proximity to New York City, the culture and the creative spirit of the people of Silvermine continues to foster artistic endeavors, neighborliness and community spirit.