Community Notebook > Manitoga

A Designing Nature
By Bob Lomicky Photos by Tom DiMauro

Russel Wright’s “good design is for everyone” philosophy was evident in his well-known, nature-inspired furniture and dinnerware designs of the mid-20th century. He took that philosophy a step further by making sure that Manitoga, his home in Garrison, would be open to the public after his death. Now known as Manitoga/The Russel Wright Design Center, the home has been available for all to experience since a year before his death in 1976.

An industrial designer, theater designer, naturalist, and sculptor, Wright (1904–1976) believed that post–World War II Americans wanted homes that were well designed and easy to care for. In his 1950 book, Guide to Easier Living (co-written with his wife Amy, also a designer), he wrote that “formality is not necessary for beauty.” Wright’s ideas led him to design a line of housewares and furnishings that were made of easily maintained materials like stainless steel, spun aluminum, earthernware, solid wood, paper, and plastic.

At Manitoga, which in Algonquin means “Place of the Great Spirit,” Wright put all his talents to use. It is the only 20th-century modern home open to the public in New York, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in addition to being a National Trust for Historic Preservation Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios Site.

It all began in 1942, when Wright purchased 75 acres of land on the east side of Route 9D. The property was scarred from 150 years of lumbering and quarrying. In what he considered his greatest creative effort, Wright built Dragon Rock, a home and studio, atop an abandoned quarry on the property several years later and spent the rest of his life turning the landscape into a living theater. While it appears natural, it is actually a carefully designed backdrop of boulders, ferns, mosses, wildflowers, and native trees, both alive and dead.

“Here you witness the dramatic cruelty of the forests,” says Wright in an article titled “A Garden of Woodland Paths.” “The corpses of fallen trees are devoured by decay and are caught in the arms of younger ones. Roots attack the boulders,”

In describing a section of what he called the Main Path, the theater designer side of Wright takes over:

“At the beginning of the path the sides are so high that one has a worm’s eye view of the trees from both sides. As you ascend the hill, the sides diminish so that they become eye level and you look at the base of the trees in the woods. You pass through the forest which I purposely leave untouched. It is rather like looking at the bottom of the sea through a glass window.”

While these vivid descriptions set the scene well, the four-plus miles of woodland paths on the property must be seen to be fully appreciated. On a steamy August afternoon, three sounds stood out as I ascended the Main Path—a rushing stream, joyous distant shouts of young day campers, and buzzing mosquitoes. Due to the damp summer, mushrooms dominated the landscape in some areas, with at least five colorful varieties visible. Walking the paths, which are clearly marked and rise approximately 500 feet from the base, one has the feeling of being in a cathedral. At one point, the spot on the Hudson River where Henry Hudson’s Half Moon is said to have docked comes into view.

At another point, following Wright’s written advice, I remove my shoes and place my feet in a stream to experience the feel of cool water on a hot day. At the end of the trail a spigot awaits to provide some more chilly water, and signals an end to a mystical experience.

Wright’s stated mission was to preserve “this land which was not to be possessed by one but to be shared…learned from…and cared for by all…for this generation and for those to come.” In support of that mission, Manitoga offers programs for children and adults that emphasize ecology, science, art, and design. And to recognize those who carry on in this spirit, Manitoga instituted the Russel Wright Awards in 2000. Past honorees include Michael Graves and Frances Reese. This year’s recipients will be honored at a benefit luncheon and auction on Sunday, September 21, at Mary’s Meadow, a section of the Manitoga woodland garden named after Wright’s wife.

This year’s three award recipients are Jack Lenor Larsen, who is receiving the award for Design; Harvey Keys Flad, who will receive the award for Environmentalism; and Rob Forbes, who will receive the award for Creative Merchandising of Modernism.

Event coordinator Vivian Linares said the recipients exemplify Wright’s ideals. “They are all multi-faceted, not only making good design affordable, accessible, and available to people, but also reflecting Mr. Wright’s deep love of the environment,” Linares said.

Jack Lenor Larsen was a friend and contemporary of Wright. The textile designer is considered one of the world’s leading authorities on traditional and modern crafts and decorative arts. His Japanese Shinto temple–inspired home is located in East Hampton and has been turned into a nonprofit membership organization called LongHouse Reserve. It has reciprocal privileges with Manitoga.

Flad is a geography professor at Vassar College and his scholarship is concerned with the work of A.J. Downing and the Hudson River School of painting. Flad is credited with leading a successful fight against the proposed Greene County Nuclear Power Plant on the Olana Watershed in 1980.

Forbes is the founder and chief design officer of Design Within Reach (DWR), a California-based catalog, Internet, and studio retailer of classic and new modern design furniture, lighting, and accessories. DWR’s mission is to make available to the public design products that had formerly been accessible only to the trade.

Linares says there “is a great deal of excitement in the air” about the event, which features a luncheon using vintage plates and a live auction of approximately 100 items, including designer home fashion accessories, traditional Manitoga favorites, and gift certificates for restaurants and hotels. Tickets cost $100 each. Parking will be at the Metro-North Garrison train station with handicapped parking offered at Manitoga.

Those who can’t attend the event but would like to visit Manitoga can do so year-round. Tours of the grounds and house are available daily at 11AM from April through October, but it is necessary to call ahead for reservations. Pets are welcome if kept on a leash. Membership costs $40 for individuals, $70 for families, and $25 for students. Membership benefits include a free house tour, unlimited access to trails, newsletters, invitations to members-only events, and a gift shop discount.

For directions and further information, call (845) 424-3812 or visit www.russelwrightcenter.org.