A N D JA PA N E S E S T RO L L G A R D E N BY John Fisher
T
he Hammond Museum and Japanese Stroll Garden fulfill the vision of founder Natalie Hammond, who reimagined her estate at 28 Deveau Road in North Salem “to become a place of natural beauty and tranquility, meant to delight the senses and refresh the spirit.”
As a widely-respected center of art & culture, with a mission of fostering Asian-American understanding, the Hammond is partially supported by grants from a number of organizations including the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership, Arts Westchester, the Westchester Industrial Development Agency, and the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation; but the Hammond depends on support from its members and from the community for continued strength.
She was the daughter of the world-traveling industrialist, diplomat, engineer and philanthropist John Hays Hammond. She began visiting Japan in the 1920s, where she was inspired by Eastern art and culture and became dedicated to melding them with Western sensibilities. In 1949, she wrote Anthology of Pattern. She was a versatile artist who painted, designed stage sets for Broadway, created costumes and other textiles, was a miniaturist, and worked in needlepoint. She collaborated with the dancer Martha Graham on the presentation of several highly successful medieval plays. In 1957 she designed and built the Hammond Museum, and in 1961 she designed and opened the Japanese Stroll Garden.
Celebrating the Garden’s 60th anniversary, the Hammond re-opened in the Spring following a year-and-a-half of being closed because of covid. Executive Director Elizabeth Hammer, Boardof-Trustees President Marleen Kassel, and staff, welcomed some 300 members and friends for a re-opening day fete that featured a tour of the main gallery exhibit of artists inspired by East Asian brush painting, a guided tour of the Japanese stroll garden, a Tai Chi and Qigong demonstration, Tea Ceremony demonstrations, a Shogetsu School of Ikebana cut-flower arranging demonstration, and classic stories for young children next to the Bamboo Grove.
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BEDFORD & NEW CANAAN
THE HAMMOND MUSEUM
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