Plainfield, New Hampshire $295,000 and up

There were grand trees in those days, and grand trees do something to you. It would be of great interest to know just what it was at college that influenced us most, that helped most to form our futures. Like enough it was not the big things on the front page, but possibly some small affair not mentioned in the catalog.

Maxfield Parrish

They say that one of the magnificent twin oaks on the estate is the oldest in the county. It's hard to tell which one both are gnarled and expansive; both somehow survived the devastating fire in 1979 that claimed the house in their shadow. That was the residence artist Maxfield Parrish built in 1898 and where he lived and painted until his death 68 years later. Were it not for the stunning views Parrish once called "blue distance, infinite distance" that stretch away from the other side of the house, one might think he chose this spot for the trees. The setting is as mystical as his paintings.

Parrish had first come to the area as part of a budding summer colony in nearby Cornish headed by sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Soon after he decided to build and settle here, the number of sculptors, painters, musicians, and writers who either owned or leased summer homes in the area was as great as anywhere in the land. Famous residents would go on to include Winston Churchill, Langdon Mitchell, Kenyon Cox, Maxwell Perkins, Woodrow Wilson, Learned Hand, and dozens of others, and the fast pace of their summer society would cause Parrish to remark, "We are thinking of going down to New York to rest." Many of the parties took place right here on the grounds.

Parrish was one of the few artists to remain here when summer ended. He loved the cold and the isolation that New England winters brought, and over time he became a familiar presence around town. Some locals still remember him with fondness.

Left of the original grounds are Parrish's studio (where he lived out the last years of his life), a barn, a caretaker's cottage, and a few small outbuildings. The destroyed residence was rebuilt in 1979 along the lines of the original, along with a new art gallery: both of the new structures are offered for sale today in the form of three living units, two in the larger house (at $325,000 and $350,000) and a single unit in the art gallery. All of them contain more space than most families need today. The 45 acres of fields and woods and trails are to be held in common—the privacy that Maxfield Parrish came here for is insured.

Get together with some of your artist friends and strike a deal with Nancy Snyder of McLaughry Associates in Hanover, (603) 643-6400.

A just-off-property Parrish view.

Maxfield's place hosted some of old Cornish's most cerebral parties.