Edwards Place reveals hidden secrets

The Art Association has owned Edwards Place for nearly 100 years, and all traces of the Edwards family's use of the house have long since disappeared under new layers of wallpaper and carpeting...or have they?

Funded in part by a generous grant from the Jeffris Heartland Fund, Edwards Place has hired the architectural firm of Sullivan Preservation of Chicago to create an Historic Interior Finishes and Furnishings Plan. Anne Sullivan and her colleague Robert Fitzgerald made their first official visit to Edwards Place on September 21, and in just a few hours' time they had brought to light several fascinating details about the construction and use of the house that had previously been lost to time.

Perhaps most exciting was Fitzgerald's discovery of a call bell in one of the rooms in the attic. There has long been an oral tradition that the Edwards family's servants slept in one of the two finished rooms in the attic, but now we have conclusive proof that this is the case. We shudder to think of that bell waking up poor Mary Sage on a freezing winter morning or in the middle of a sweltering summer night!

They also investigated the basement under the children's playroom at the far north end of the house and found evidence of a large masonry structure which led them to believe that the playroom was originally an outbuilding, perhaps a summer kitchen, that was connected to the rest of the house by the addition of the library.

At the end of their visit Buraski Builders showed up to remove the pier mirror in the family sitting room to reveal the original scrap of wallpaper behind it.

The ornate Rococo style suggests that it might have graced the walls as early as the late 1850s, when the Edwards family put on their major addition to the house.

Another discovery was made behind the shelf under the pier mirror in the formal parlor:

We will have to wait for scientific analysis before the true age of these papers can be determined. Nevertheless, it is thrilling to see this scrap of the past emerge, and to imagine what the house must have looked like and what must have been going on within its walls when these papers graced the walls.

Stay tuned for more discoveries as the architects continue to unearth the past at Edwards Place!

Help Build a Community Playground!

This summer, a representative from KaBoom! Playground (kaboom.org), visited the Springfield Art Association's Summer Art Camp to facilitate a specific art exercise.

The project? To draw an answer to the question, "What is your dream playground?"

Our Campers were incredibly enthusiastic about this project; the group visited Gehrmann Park (on 2nd & Calhoun Streets in Springfield's Enos Park neighborhood), chosen as the designated space for a brand-new playground.


On Saturday, September 25, their image on paper will be turned into reality. The Springfield Park District, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, and the Enos Park Neighborhood Association need your help to build this playground.

The State-Journal Register article can be read here.

Spotlight on the Collection: Lillie Parker Judd Portrait

Walking into the dining room of Edwards Place, the first thing that commands your attention is the massive portrait of the child in blue. She is perched sideways on a chair, dressed in the full skirt, jacket, and "Swiss belt" typical of young girls' attire in the 1860s. The expression on her face is gentle, almost wistful.

Her name is Lillie Parker Judd. She was born in 1856, the only daughter of George and Lucy Judd of Springfield. Her father was an attorney and railroad lobbyist, and the Judd family were almost certainly acquaintances of the Edwardses.

The Judds were a prosperous family, but all the money in the world would not have prevented the tragedies that befell them during the 1860s. On December 27, 1862, Lucy gave birth to her second child. This little boy was named George after his father, but he would not live to follow in his father's footsteps: he died the same day he was born.

Then, on July 26, 1865, tragedy struck again: Lillie died at age 9, most likely of disease, leaving the Judds childless. She was buried at Oak Ridge Cemetery, where her brother's remains had been transferred from the old Hutchinson Cemetery just two months earlier.

Her portrait was painted by George P. A. Healy, was one of the most prominent and in-demand portrait artists of the 19th century. His clients included every president from John Quincy Adams to Ulysses S. Grant, and a host of prominent military, political and business figures besides.

It is not known when Healy painted the massive portrait of Lillie, or even if the portrait was painted from life. The possibility exists that it was painted from a photograph after Lillie died - its remarkable dimension (64.5" x 53.5") - and what was undoubtedly a remarkable expense - suggest the kind of investment that bereaved parents might make in a stunning memorial of their lost child.

To learn more about Healy and the Judds, come by Edwards Place for a tour!

I-Spy "Young at Art"

Look for this banner at the 22nd Annual Edwards Place Fine Art Fair this weekend! This will lead you to the Children's Tent, fully equipped with creativity and plenty of crafty art projects!

Fall into Art...

School Supplies? Check.
New Backpack and lunch box? Check. Check.
Young Artist Studio?...

Be sure to 'check' art classes off your little Picasso's to-do list this fall.

Click to see our line up of Fall Classes...

For more information on registration, and scholARTship applications, please contact the SAA Office by phone (523-2631) or e-mail, education@springfieldart.org.

Edwards Place Art Fair

The Edwards Place Fine Art Fair has been the city's premiere fall art festival for the past 22 years.

Eight years ago, the SAA moved the Fair to the the third weekend in September, and it has since become the not-to-be-missed event of the season.

The 22nd Annual Edwards Place Fine Art Fair. Ranked Best by:
Abraham Lincoln,
Vincent van Gogh,
Uncle Sam and Mona Lisa,
and Ron Burgundy...

...It's science.*

[*Note: Alright, alright, these individuals haven't actively submitted any sort of quantitative information regarding their affection for the Fine Art Fair, but let's pretend. I mean, who needs rankings when you Abraham Lincoln on your side?!]

September 18 and 19. Art. Music. Food. All weekend. Come see it!

Volunteers Needed for Haunted Nights of History

It's September, which means fall is just around the corner! Time for leaves to change, the temperature to get colder...and ghosts to take up residence at Edwards Place!

The seventh annual Haunted Nights of History will take place on October 21 and 22 from 7 to 9 p.m. Each room of the house will be haunted by a "ghost" of an Edwards family member or friend, who will share his or her tragic tale with visitors on the tour. These ghosts will include Captain Benjamin Ferguson, Alice Edwards's husband, who survived the siege at Vicksburg only to drop dead at his desk in the Springfield Marine Bank; Mary Welles, who lost her husband and five of her six children to cholera and scarlet fever; Bettie Stuart Brown, wife and daughter of Benjamin Edwards's two law partners, who died of dysentery at age 30; Ninian Edwards Condell, who drowned at age 19, and many more.

Volunteers are needed to portray these ghosts (costumes will be provided), as well as to assist visitors through the home during the tours. Everyone interested in participating is invited to attend an informational meeting on September 13, 2010 at 7 p.m. at the Springfield Art Association.

If unable to attend or for more information about the tours or event volunteer opportunities, call 217-523-2631 or email collections@springfieldart.org.