The Olson House, A Photographers Muse

On the 100th anniversary of Andrew Wyeth’s birth, The Farnsworth Museum put together a show of photographs made in and around the Olson House. I was lucky enough to be one of the photographers invited to participate in the show. They choose three of my images for the exhibition.

Where stove once stood in the kitchen of the Olson House. The open door leads to the barn and the stove pipe is lit by afternoon sun. — Where stove once stood. 1991

I have a long history with the Olson House. I first photographed there in 1991, the Farnsworth had just been given the property and were not sure what they were going to do with it. They wanted a color postcard type image of the front of the house. I let them use a color transparency I had shot during the summer in exchange for being allowed to photograph in the Olson House during the winter. I felt it was a good deal, they got what they needed, and I got an opportunity to explore a great house alone.

Looking out a 3rd-floor window towards the east and the cove of water. — Ridge Line, 1991

In the winter of 1991-1992, I went to the Olson house several times. The underlying question for me was simple, did Andrew Wyeth paint in and around the Olson House because of the Olson’s or because of the light he found inside? It was obviously both. I would not have the Olson’s around, but their spirit would be around, and the large windows would provide the light. So I went to the Olson House several times between teaching days and other times I could fit a few free hours into the schedule.

An old wreath with black ribbon hangs on the front door of the Olson House — Memorial Wreath on the Front Door, 1991

I don’t think I made a decent image the first time down. It was cold and drafty, and to be honest spooky. So I spent most of the time just looking around and trying to figure the space out.

I began to notice what wasn’t there. The stove was missing. There was nothing in the building except space and light. On a sunny winter day, the view was gorgeous. As the sun passed thru the old panes of the windows, it was transformed. It was revealing but not brittle. The third and fourth trips to the Olson House I began making a few decent images, and looking at them today nearly 30 years later they still hold my interest.

tillman