American impressionist Gari Melchers painted this work, 'Cottage in Snow,' from the east side of Belmont--a favorite setting of his--sometime between 1917 and 1922. GARI MELCHERS HOME AND STUDIO Visit the Photo Place

A bit of Belmont is home again

Gari Melchers Home and Studio purchases its first Melchers work--a delicate Falmouth scene the American artist painted onsite 80 some years ago.

Date published: 5/20/2006

By CLINT SCHEMMER

A beautiful bit of history has come home, after eight decades' absence, to Gari Melchers Home and Studio in Falmouth.

The museum unveiled a painting this week that Melchers, an American impressionist, painted from his home's east portico sometime between 1917 and 1922.

The artwork, of a wintry Falmouth scene, was acquired by the state historic site to mark the opening of its new Studio Pavilion, which welcomes area residents to enjoy free tours tomorrow from 1 to 5 p.m. It is the first Melchers painting purchased by Belmont, which owns the world's largest collection of works by the artist, a contemporary of John Singer Sargent, Childe Hassam and Mary Cassatt.

That connection to Falmouth and the work's superb quality as an example of the American landscape movement make it very special, curator Joanna Catron said yesterday.

Titled "Cottage in Snow," the small painting depicts a stone cottage in the east pasture at Belmont, the country home that Gari Melchers and his wife, Corinne, purchased in 1916 and moved to from New York City.

Melchers used the building as a temporary studio until he completed a much larger studio near the house in 1924. The cottage was demolished in 1966 after it fell into serious disrepair, Catron said.

Now, this lovely painting of the artist's original Falmouth studio is on public view in the bigger, well-lighted one where he worked until his death in 1932. It is shown in its original frame, complemented by a matching Whistler-style surround.

To capture the scene, Melchers stood at Belmont's east portico, where he could look down into what locals call "Falmouth Bottom" and across to the hills on the other side. Some of the homes in the Bottom are visible in the work's background, as is the steeple of the old Union Church--whose facade remains today.

This view of the village below from Belmont's high ridge was a favorite of Melchers, who painted it in different seasons and at different times of day, Catron said.

If you go WHAT: Open house at Belmont's new Studio Pavilion WHEN: 1-5 p.m. tomorrow WHERE: Gari Melchers Home and Studio, 224 Washington St., Falmouth, off U.S. 17 and U.S. 1 DETAILS: Free; public welcome; 540/654-1845; www.garimelchers.org

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Date published: 5/20/2006