Ralph Radcliffe-Whitehead established the Byrdcliffe Arts and Crafts Colony in Woodstock, N.Y. in 1901, having been influenced by the teachings of John Ruskin from the time he attended college at Oxford. The construction of workshops, studios, and residences began in the winter of 1902 and by the summer of 1903 Byrdcliffe had a fully equipped metalworking shop, a pottery, a woodworking shop, a large studio for art classes taught by Bolton Brown, a dairy, a library, a guest house, and the Whitehead's own house, called White Pines. The colony soon attracted a number of individuals interested in handcrafting a variety of objects, including furniture, rugs, fabric, metalwork, pottery, and paintings. Two graduates of the Pratt School of Design, Zulma Steele and Edna Walker, eventually became responsible for designing most of the decoration found on Byrdcliffe furniture. Although cabinetmaking was intended to be the major craft of the colony, weaving, pottery, and photography continued to be practiced long after 1905 when the woodworking shops were closed. Whitehead's wife, Jane Byrd McCall, took particular interest in pottery and spent time in California taking lessons from Frederick Hurten Rhead. Whitehead's interest in photography encouraged other photographers, including Jessie Tarbox Beals, to spend time at Byrdcliffe. By 1909, Byrdcliffe was more of a private estate maintained by Whitehead to raise his sons, Ralph Jr. and Peter, than an art colony, although the guest cottages continued to be rented out. Both Ralph Whiteheads died in 1929; Jane died in 1955, and the younger son Peter in 1975. Today, the Woodstock Guild and private individuals own different portions of the property that once made up Byrdcliffe.
From the description of Papers, ca.1869-2000. (Winterthur Library). WorldCat record id: 84665818
