Vinland estate
Vinland estate, one of Newport's original mansions in the Beaux-Arts tradition, also housed stables, a gate lodge and an elaborate gate and fence. Its buildings consisted of McAuley Hall, Tobin Hall, Angelus Hall, the Misto Gatehouse, and Marian Hall. The 13-acre property, which included the homestead of William B. Lawrence, was purchased in 1881 by Ms. Catharine Lorillard Wolfe, heiress of Wolfe Hardware and Lorillard Tobacco, for $192,000. Wolfe was known for her philanthropy and love of art and through her lifetime amassed a collection of the world's most notable watercolor and oil paintings. The collection was bequeathed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Ms. Wolfe spent many summers in a Newport home overlooking Old Stone Mill, with its legend of Viking origins. As a tribute, she decided to build a new cottage with a Viking theme in a Richardsonian Romanesque style. The architects Peabody & Stearns of Boston were selected, along with builder O.E. Clarke of Boston.
Vinland, constructed from 1882-83, with rugged ashlar walls, round arches, and blocky columns served to evoke a Scandinavian "Viking" look, and the theme extended to the exterior window surrounds and string courses with carvings based on the interlacing 8 figure designs found in Celtic manuscript borders. The home was decorated by Mr. Richard Codman. Artist Walter Crane designed windows for the library and a frieze for the dining room and Edward Burne-Jones designed the stained glass windows in the staircase hall.
Railroad tycoon Hamilton McKown Twombly purchased the property and his wife, Florence Adele Vanderbilt Twombly, sister of Cornelius Vanderbilt II, oversaw extensive renovations of the mansion. A new section was added to the home, and much of the original paneling and fixtures were removed and replaced for ones that represented a heavier French Baroque style.
Salve Regina acquired the Vinland estate from Mrs. William A. Burden, daughter of Florence Twombly, in 1955, and named it in honor of Catherine McAuley, founder of the Religious Sisters of Mercy.
Sources: "Newport through its architecture" by James L. Yarnall, the Campus buildings of Salve Regina University, RIAMCO (Rhode Island Archival and Manuscript Collections Online), and "Arts and crafts architecture: History and heritage in New England" by Maureen Meister.
Articles
- The Peabody Touch: Peabody and Stearns of Boston, 1870-1917.Describes the lives and careers of these influential architects, and states that they were "the most important arbiters of building taste after H. H. Richardson."
- Catharine Lorillard WolfeThe obituary, dated April 5, 1887 in The New York Times, of Catharine L. Wolfe is remembered for her generosity. The article provides rich details of her life and her contributions to the world of fine art.
- Wolfe leaves private art collection to Metropolitan Museum of ArtUpon her death, Catharine L. Wolfe donated her extensive, well-curated collection of fine art to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Books
- Notable American Women, 1607-1950 byCall Number: Ref CT3260 .N57ISBN: 9780674627314Publication Date: 1971-01-01Background on Catharine Lorillard Wolfe, whose fortunes from Wolfe hardware and Lorillard tobacco, were used to build Vinland. She was an American philanthropist and built an extensive art collection of oil paintings and watercolors, the latter bequeathed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The Path of Mercy by Call Number: e-bookISBN: 9780813219486Publication Date: 2012-08-01The university named the centerpiece of the Vinland estate in honor of Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy.- Women's Culture byCall Number: N72.F45 M34 1991ISBN: 9780226555836Publication Date: 1992-03-01The development of an art collection by Catharine Lorillard Wolfe is discussed.
The Vanderbilts by Call Number: Ref CT274.V35 P38 1989ISBN: 9780810917484Publication Date: 1989Discusses the Twombly connection to the Vanderbilt family. Florence Vanderbilt Twombly made extensive renovations to Vinland.
Power underestimated: American women art collectors by Call Number: Newport Collection N5215 .P69 2011ISBN: 9788831799492Publication Date: 2011A chapter focuses on the collecting and patronage of Catharine Lorillard Wolfe in gilded-age New York and Newport.
Burne-Jones by Call Number: e-bookISBN: 9781780424149Publication Date: 2011Sir Edward Coley Burne Jones (1833-1898) was a master of drawing, painted glass and ceramic art. He designed the stained glass windows for the staircase hall in Vinland. Initially impressed to the quick by Botticelli, Mantegna and Michelangelo, he later turned to Gabriel Rossetti and the early Pre- Raphaelites.
Pioneers of American Landscape Design by Call Number: SB469.9 .P56 2000ISBN: 9780071344203Publication Date: 2000Landscape architect Ernest W. Bowditch designed the grounds of the Vinland estate.
Vinland Gatehouse
Sister Leona served the campus community for nearly 35 years in numerous capacities. In 2001, she was appointed as Salve Regina’s first vice president for mission integration, an office formed to inculcate the mission’s basic principles into the academic curriculum, student-centered programs and institutional operations.
Twomblys purchase Vinland
Tobin Hall
Tobin Hall, now home to university security offices, was named for twins, Sister Mary Jean Tobin, RSM, and Sister Mary Eloise Tobin, RSM, beloved faculty members at the university. Tobin Hall was designed by the architectural firm of Peabody & Stearns, and the Colonial Revival structure was completed in 1884.
Sister Mary Jean Tobin, RSM, and Sister Mary Eloise Tobin, RSM, pictured in the chapel at Ochre Court. (Photo by Impressions by Lois)
Sources: Campus buildings of Salve Regina University and Digital Commons @Salve Regina