Postcard. North Street Looking South.
Collection of the Litchfield Historical Society.
Litchfield
Long known as one of the prettiest villages
in New England, Litchfield attracted affluent summer residents from Waterbury,
New York, and Philadelphia at the turn of the 20th century. Through the
Village Improvement Society, they encouraged a cultured and “colonial”
style in buildings, gardens and landscaping in the village.
Three artists active in New York became prominent in Litchfield in the
years before World War I. Alexander Van Laer, a popular painting teacher
and lecturer, bought a home on West Street in 1911 where he ran an art
school and organized annual painting exhibits. Sponsored by the Garden
Club, the shows also included the work of Adelaide Deming, a Litchfield
native and instructor at the Pratt Institute in New York, and Emily Vanderpoel,
also a native of Litchfield.