| THE HERMITAGE SERIES – 2000-2001 |
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This singular collection is sculpted from Sugar Maples harvested from The Hermitage, historic home of Andrew Jackson, 7th President of the United States. Since opening as a museum in 1889 The Hermitage has hosted over 14 million people. Jackson purchased the farm on July 5, 1804, from one Nathaniel Hays for the price of $3,400. Moving in to his new property Jackson dressed up the farmhouse interior with fresh paint and French wallpaper, and hiring men to clear fields and build fences. Jackson dubbed his new home “The Hermitage,” referring to a secluded residence or retreat. The couple lived in the farm’s existing log farmhouse until the winter of 1821 when they moved into the their new Federal-style, two-story brick mansion. It was at this same time that an English gardener from Philadelphia was employed to design Rachel Jackson’s formal garden. The largest tree included in Sells’ Hermitage Series was a massive sugar maple standing tall between the mansion proper and Rachel's garden. The venerable old tree had begun to drop limbs and Hermitage officials were afraid that, in a storm, the majestic maple might come down entirely, damaging the mansion. According to Jay Bucy, then Hermitage Sales Manager, the Hermitage Women's Auxiliary had planted many of the grounds’ trees in the 1920's. The group had taken trees from the various famed battle sites of Jackson’s past and planted them on the Hermitage grounds. This included a resolute row of trees lining “War Road,” the old mansion entrance. If they were to be taken down, Bucy wanted the historic trees to be used for something imaginative and significant. Honored and humbled with the gift of a large stump from one of the venerable War Road trees, Sells produced a series of approximately 3-dozen pieces. These are signed as "The Hermitage Series" and each sculpture assigned a series production number. |
Recent Works
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What the Experts are Saying...
“
It brought a different character to the wood collection that we have, besides a new name. The fluidity of the piece, the use of the wood, the beautiful grain, all of the characteristics of the particular wood, I thought added a dimension.
”Curator in Charge, Renwick Gallery, The Smithsonian Museum