Night Scene of the Phalanstery Building

Maker William Savery Bucklin

Period1909

Place MadePhalanx, New Jersey, U.S.A.

MediumGraphite on paper, mounted on cardboard

Dimensions10.5 × 7.88 in. (26.7 × 20 cm)

SignedSigned "W. S. Bucklin '09" lower left, "Phalanx Jan 8th 09" and Bucklin's monogram at lower right corner

ClassificationsDrawings

Credit LineGift of Rockbridge Regional Library, 2023

Object number2023.9.3

DescriptionA night scene of a corner of the North American Phalanx main building, known as the Phalanstery, with lamplight windows, at left and several bare trees scattered across a snow-covered lawn.
Curatorial RemarksThe North American Phalanx was founded in the winter of 1843 by a group of New York and Philadelphia families eager to embrace the philosophy of transendentalist and communalistic philosopher Charles Fourier. The group purchased approximately 673 acres once belonging to Joseph Van Mater of Colts Neck. The first Phalanx members lived in two farm houses on the property, building a 40 x 80 foot addition between the two structures, creating a large residence building as a result. In 1847 the community was able to construct a large main building called the Phalanstery. The large three-story building housed apartments and single rooms for members, guests and visitors; a reading room, offices reception rooms, a library, and a large rear addition measuring 70 x 39 feet used as a dining room and event space. The kitchens were located in the basement, and the entire building was steam heated. After the dissolution of the NAP in 1854 after a devastating fire, the Bucklin family purchased a large portion of the property and continued to use the Phalanstery as both residence and visitor/guest house. The building gradually fell into disrepair. Numerous attempts to raise funds for the building's restoration were attempted by local groups. At one point, the Monmouth County Historical Association was offered the Phalanstery building. All efforts failed, in large part due to the extensive deterioration of the entire structure and the high costs of repair and restoration. Eventually, the property was subdivided in early 1972 and purchased by a developer. The Phalanstery was destroyed by a "suspicious" fire in November of 1972. The charred remains were bulldozed. The Phalanstery building was a favorite subject of artist William Savery Bucklin, whose parents John and Lydia were early members of the NAP. Bucklin seemed to have been quite fond of depicting the Phalanx and nearby areas at night, as this is one of at least half a dozen identified images of the building after dark.NotesWilliam Savery Bucklin was born in October 1851 at the North American Phalanx. His father, John Bucklin (1807-1895) and mother Lydia Eliza Sears (1811-1902) were prominent members of the utopian community located in Colts Neck. Bucklin was only three when a serious fire swept through the community, destroying a number of workshops and small production buildings on September 10, 1854. The Phalanx was found to be grossly underinsured, and the community did not have the funds to rebuild and reestablish itself after the fire. That, coupled with crushing debt incurred before the fire, caused the Phalanx shareholders and members to vote to dissolve the group. In January of 1856, the North American Phalanx was formally dissolved. After the dissolution, the property was divided up into lots and sold at auction. A number of the properties were purchased by former Phalanx members, including several Bucklin family members who would continue to live on the property for the next 80 years. The Bucklins rented out rooms in the old main building, known as the Phalanstery, to visiting artists and sightseers. One of these visitors, artist George Arnold, apparently gave William Bucklin his first drawing lessons. Bucklin sold his first drawing at the age of eleven and went on to study art at the Normal School in Boston, Massachusetts, then in New York where he became one of the first members of the Art Students League. Bucklin exhibited his work at numerous nationally recognized art venues including the Boston Art Club, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Brooklyn Art Association, the National Academy of Design, and the Art Institute of Chicago. Bucklin traveled extensively to such locations as California, the Adirondacks, and Florida, where he produced numerous study works. Bucklin favored landscapes and worked in pencil, pen and ink, watercolor, and oil on canvas. He favored the simple farmland in and around the former Phalanx property. In a 1919 review of one of Bucklin's exhibitions, a New York Tribune critic noted "His canvases possess, to a delightful degree, the quality of sunniness...there is charming individuality all the way through." Bucklin also assisted his father in the running of the restored cannery business. Originally started by the members of the North American Phalanx, the small cannery factory used local Monmouth produce, particularly Jersey tomatoes, to produce canned goods for local and regional stores.After his father's death in 1895, Bucklin continued running the cannery. His business sense was not good, and the cannery gradually declined until its bankruptcy in 1909. William Bucklin then moved with his wife, Anne M. Ashton (1861-1941) to Riverside, Connecticut, located near Greenwich and Cos Cob. Bucklin returned to the Phalanstery property numerous times and operated a small studio and gallery on the premises for many years. He died at the Phalanx on May 3, 1928, at the age of 77. His nephew, Alexander Wollcott, noted that "the last to go was Uncle Will. He had been born there and did his first toddling in that pretty ravine of which he painted the beech trees all his days."

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