It has been said that Mark Twain called the old farmhouse, The Lobster Pot, because it reminded him
of lobster pots he saw in Maine
and because it was a frequent destination of his “Aquarium” and the Angel Fish
Club.
Mark Twain gave The Lobster
Pot along with funds for renovation to Isabel Lyon, his secretary, social
companion and household manager, as a Christmas gift in 1907. When not staying at Stormfield,
Isabel Lyon lived with her mother in The
Lobster Pot.
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Mark Twain's The Lobster Pot Studio Gallery entrance
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Mark Twain's The Lobster Pot Studio & Gallery in May
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Welcome to The Lobster Pot Studio and Gallery online Exhibit.
The Lobster Pot Studio and Gallery was designed by the artist,
Susan Boone Durkee. Located on a very private hilltop setting and surrounded by
garden views, The Lobster Pot offers a unique and inspiring studio and gallery
space. Besides being a very busy working studio, The Lobster Pot hosts gallery
shows, workshops, presentations and fundraising events.
The
Lobster Pot was named by the world famous humorist and writer
Mark Twain, who owned the property at the turn of the century.
It has been said that Mark Twain called the old farmhouse, The Lobster Pot, because it was a frequent destination of his “Aquarium” and the Angel Fish
Club. Mark Twain built his last home, Stormfield, on part of the original acreage.
To see more artwork and traditional portraiture by the award winning artist, Susan Boone Durkee, visit:
www.SusanDurkee.com
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| The Redding Mark Twain 20 x 16 oil on linen collection of the artist |
All the paintings shown are currently for sale, (unless indicated) and on Exhibit at The Lobster Pot Studio and Gallery.
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The Lobster Pot 80 foot sunken Garden
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Still lifes
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Summer Pleasures
oil on Linen 24 x 22
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Still life with Antique Chinese Ginger Jar
oil on linen 26 x 10
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Mom's Roses sold
Oil on linen 7 x 5
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Fruitful Pleasures
oil on linen 18 x 14
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Garden Peonies sold
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Garden Roses
oil on linen 18 x 16
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Mark Twain's Passions
oil on linen 18 x 14
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Spring Flowers
oil on canvas 16 x 14
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Sporting Art and Animals
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"The Cutty Sark racing the Wind"
oil on linen 56 x 38 sold
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"Horse of the Year Curlin, Winning the Preakness"
oil on canvas 36 x 24
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"Head to Head Saratoga"
Exhibited at The National Art Museum of Sport
Commitment to Excellence Show 2010
oil on Canvas 36 x 24
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The Winning Stretch
oil on canvas 36 x 24
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Top of the Stretch
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"The King" Sold
oil on linen 20 x 16
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Waiting for the Hunt
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The Endangered Spirit
oil on linen 18 x 14
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Heads Tails off to the Trails
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Chicken Dance, New Pond Farm
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Bison and Calf
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"Resting Tiger" Sold
oil on linen 10 x 8
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Out for a Stroll, New Pond Farm
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"The Morning Wait" (New Pond Farm, Redding Ct)
oil on canvas 11 x 9
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Across the Snow Thanksgiving Day Hunt Goldens Bridge Hounds sold
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Over the Top
oil on linen 12 x 9
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Across the snow, Goldens Bridge Hunt
oil on linen 7 x 5
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Landscapes & Seascapes
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Garden Holly Hocks
oil on linen 28 x 22
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Monet's Giverny
oil on linen 16 x 12
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The Wieglia Tree
oil on linen 8 x 10
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A Brant Point Welcome, Nantucket
Oil on linen 14 x 10
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Spring Night North Church, Nantucket
Winner of the President Award of Excellence,
Summer Potpourri Show, Salmagundi Club, N.Y
oil on canvas 28 x 22
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A Fall Day Old Lyme sold
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4th of July Brant Point Nantucket
oil on canvas 20 x 16
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Southport Harbor view
oil on linen 5 1/2 x 7
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Night Glow Redding Congregational Church
oil on canvas 20 x 16
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Southport Harbor Yacht Club
oil on canvas 20 x 17
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Southport Scene oil on canvas 14 x 11
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Rendezvous Island Memory
oil on canvas 12 x 9
Garden Views of The Lobster Pot |
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| Spring and Summer Garden views |
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Summer gardens and more Lobster Pot Garden views
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Dogwood Time Greenfield Hill
oil on linen 22 x 18
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The Artist in her Studio. To see more artwork and Susan's traditional Portraiture please visit: www.SusanDurkee.com
Susan can be reached at the Studio # 203-938-2760 and at susan@susandurkee.com
The history about Mark Twain and The Lobster Pot Studio and Gallery
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"Mark Twain and Friend" collection of the artist
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" Isabel Lyon" 24 x 30 oil on linen, Collection of the Artist Mark Twain Room at The Lobster Pot
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Mark Twain and Isabel Lyon
An untold Story
By Susan Boone Durkee
Isabel Van Kleek Lyon 1863-1958
The relationship
between Isabel Lyon and Mark Twain has basically been kept a secret for nearly
70 years. How can that be? Here is a woman about whom Twain himself said he
knew most intimately in all the world -- with the exception of his wife, Livy.
Mark Twain first met
Isabel Lyon in 1892, when she was 26 and working as a Governess for a Hartford family. He
encountered her at a party while he was playing charades, and he was so charmed
by her that at the end of the evening, when invited to return, he replied:
“I’ll come only if I can play with the little Governess.”
When Isabel Lyon
first came to work for the Clemens family in 1902, Twain described her as
“slender, petite, comely, 39 years old by the almanac, and 17 in ways and carriage
and dress.” A charming woman, hard working and competent she soon took
responsibility for the entire Clemens household.
After Livy’s death
in 1904, Isabel became Mark Twain’s secretary, bookkeeper, household manager,
social companion, literary critic, and holder of his power of attorney. For a
period she lived at Stormfield with Twain.
Supposedly her bedroom was next to his and her office was located just
inside Stormfield’s front hall on the
left.
Intelligent, and
sensitive, Isabel worshipped Twain, referring to him as “The King.” He, in
turn, called her “The Lioness.” Isabel staggered under the demands that Twain
placed on her. As Twain described her:
“Miss
Lyon runs Clara, and Jean, and me, and the servants, and the housekeeping, and
the house building, and the secretary work, and remains as extraordinarily as
competent as ever.”
In her diary, Isabel
records:
“I
have been so busy, for there is this house to look after (The Lobster Pot), and
the Tuxedo house to think and plan for, and the Redding house to be after too,
and Santa (Clara) to love and be with when she was here and do for, and Jean to
be anxious over and to help if I can, and her doctors to see, and the King’s
social life to look after – for in these days he is very lonely and reaches out
for people — and people he must have, so now I am planning parties for him.”
Although it is said
that Isabel had designs to marry Twain, she ended up marrying married Twain’s
business manager, Ralph Ashcroft, in 1909. It was an unhappy marriage and ended
in divorce in 1920.
There is no evidence
that Lyon ever betrayed Twain, even though she
was paid poorly and treated badly at the end of her service -- Twain even took
back the “The Lobster Pot,” her “darling
house,” which he had given her as a Christmas gift in 1907. Still, Isabel
remained devoted to him. Many years later, she would refer to the situation as,
“we had a falling out.” A young actress friend, Joyce Aaron, who lived next to
Isabel when Isabel was in her mid-nineties and living in Brooklyn,
told this to me.
What really happened
between Twain and Isabel? Was it Clara’s jealous prodding? Was Twain jealous
that she married Ashcroft? Did she really try to steal from Twain? Was Albert
Bigelow Paine jealous of her control of Twain?
Or did she know too many of the
family’s secrets?
We may never know
for sure. So why has this
relationship been kept secret?
After Twain died,
Clara Clemens and Albert Bigelow Paine removed virtually all record of Isabel
Lyon’s existence. So as far as the public was concerned, Isabel Van Kleek Lyon
never existed.
Isabel died in 1958.
She willed her diary and photos to the Mark Twain Papers collection at the University of California,
Berkeley, with
the condition that they not be open to the public until after Clara’s Death. So
I guess you can say that after Clara died, Isabel was reborn.
We all owe a lot to
this woman, Isabel Lyon. Because of her diligence in keeping a sequence of
detailed journals and photos the last years of Mark Twain’s life can now be
better known to all.
Isabel Lyon and her mother 1908, in front of The Lobster Pot
photo courtesy of the Wayland Family
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Isabel Lyon in the back of The Lobster Pot, by the patio 1908, photo courtesy of the Wayland family
Back of The Lobster Pot looking onto the Patio, 1908 (looks the same today) |
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Captain Stormfield "Cappy" the Studio Mascott...a 21 pounder and proud of it!
For more information about the artwork and portraiture of award winning artist, Susan Boone Durkee, or to contact
the studio about workshops or appointments, call 203-938-2760
or email susan@susandurkee.com or visit the website:
www.SusanDurkee.com
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