The MacDowell Colony is an art colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire, Founded in 1907 by Marian MacDowell, wife of composer Edward MacDowell, largely with donated funds. An art colony is a place where artists live and work, interacting with one another, often creating a distinctive style. ... Peterborough is a town located in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, USA. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 5,883. ... 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Edward and Marian MacDowell. ...

At least 61 Pulitzer Prizes have been received by the roughly 5,100 artists who have been in residence over the years. The Pulitzer Prize is an American award regarded as the highest honor in print journalism, literary achievements, and musical compositions. ...

Stays average four to five weeks and are limited to two months. Room and board are free, and some residents receive help with travel expenses as well. Each artist is assigned one of 32 studios for their personal use on a 24-hour-a-day basis; each of these is a separate building with power, heat, simple amenities, lunch delivered, no telephone, and the expectation that interruptions will be by invitation only. In nearly every case, the studios are out of view of each other.

The artists are a community of between 20 and 30, sharing breakfast and dinner in a common dining room, and frequently engaging in group activities in the evenings.

Notable colony-created works

• Thornton Wilder wrote his play "Our Town" (which won a Pulitzer in 1938).
• Aaron Copland worked on composing Appalachian Spring (a 1945 Pulitzer winner).
• Virgil Thompson worked on composing Mother of Us All.
• Leonard Bernstein finished his Mass.

Thornton Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American novelist and playwright. ... Our Town is a play by Thornton Wilder that is set in the fictional community of Grovers Corners, New Hampshire. ... Aaron Copland conducting. ... Appalachian Spring is a musical work by Aaron Copland writteen between 1943–44 as a ballet suite and a later orchestral suite. ... Virgil Thomson, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1947 Virgil Thomson (November 25, 1896 - September 30, 1989) was an American composer from Missouri, whose rural background gave a sense of place in his compositions. ... Leonard Bernstein in 1971 Leonard Bernstein (August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American composer, pianist and conductor. ...

History

MacDowell had concluded, from experience including his involvement in founding the American Academy in Rome (the benefactor of American Prix de Rome awards) that interdisciplinary associations among artists were valuable. The MacDowells bought a farm in Peterborough in 1896, where he judged the surroundings during summers to enhance his creativity as a composer of music. They formulated a plan for providing both kinds of benefits through an institutionalized residential art colony, and in 1906 raised funds for the purpose, contributed by former U.S. President Grover Cleveland, industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, the financier J. P. Morgan, and other prominent people. The American Academy in Rome is an arts institution, founded in the late 19th century by American composer Edward MacDowell and others. ... The Prix de Rome is a scholarship for students of the arts. ... 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... A composer is a person who writes music. ... An art colony is a place where artists live and work, interacting with one another, often creating a distinctive style. ... 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... For the pop band, see Presidents of the United States of America. ... Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837 – June 24, 1908) was the 22nd (1885–1889) and 24th (1893–1897) President of the United States, and the only President to serve two non-consecutive terms. ... Andrew Carnegie (November 25, 1835 – August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American businessman, a major philanthropist, and the founder of the Carnegie Steel Company which later became U.S. Steel. ... John Pierpont Morgan John Pierpont Morgan I (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and banker, who at the turn of the century (1901), was one of the wealthiest men in America. ...

The first residents came the next year,and the program continues in dozens of buildings scattered over 450 acres (1.8 km²) of land.

Tax status

The colony has always been largely free of paying property taxes as a non-profit organization, but in 2005, the board of selectmen of Peterborough revoked much of that status and asked the colony to pay $50,000 a year to cover services such as snowplowing, police and firefighters, the colony currently pays tax of $9,000 on land not used for its central mission. The colony paid the bill but is contesting its taxable status and seeking a refund in court.

External links

• MacDowell Colony