Art League of New Britain
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Founding Fathers

Art League of New Britain, also, Founding Fathers. . Art League of New Britain , Located just around the corner from this sign at 30 Cedar Street, The Art League of New Britain in the second oldest art league in the United States. Founded in 1928, its original mission was as an art school holding both day and evening sessions. In 1934 it transitioned into an art club where artists could work together and gather for social affairs. , The Art League's first president, Sanford B.D. Low, former director of the New Britain Museum of American Art, was the driving force behind the original success of the League. He gave considerable time, talent and enthusiasm to keep the arts alive sharing the Great Depression. The Sanford B.D. Low Gallery honors his legacy. , The Art League's home at one time served as local industrialist George Post's stable and carriage house. Post's daughter sold the barn to A.J. Sloper who in turn sold it to William C. Hungerford. The late Judge Hungerford had granted the use of his stable to the League in his lifetime, and after his death, his widow deeded the property to the League. , The first part of the Carriage House complex was contracted shortly after the Civil War in a richly ornamented mid-Victorian Stick-style. It contained a couple of stables and is now the Sanford B.D. Low Gallery. Shortly after, a new structure was built with eight stables. These still exist, complete with cast iron water troughs and individual trap doors in the ceiling for efficient delivery of hay to each stall from the cavernous upstairs loft. Next to be added was the current kitchen and bathrooms areas. The current pottery studio, a simple lean-to structure, was very likely built as a tack room. The final addition with hip roof and small attic dormer window that currently houses the Meta Lacey Gallery was inserted into the alcove created by the prior structures. This development of the building over many years resulted in the charming massing of forms and shapes that we see today. The complex is topped by a pair of cupolas that, far from being merely decorative, provided for the escape of the heat and odors from the stables and the hayloft. The Studio is said to have transformed the social life of New Britain by bringing together in moments of camaraderie, artists and people from all occupations – businessmen, store owners, lawyers, and doctors. , The Art League has the responsibility for caring for and preserving the carriage house, which is open to the public. In the words of Art League member Meta Lacey, “Let no man presume to modernize our old barn by stripping it of its architectural personality, which properly dates it as a fine example of its period." , [Captions] , . Top right: Attendees at art opening for works by Ged Liakus scan through a collection of his works on paper. , . Center left: Art reception visitors spill out onto the Art League lawn. , . Center right: Artist LeaAnn Cogswell chats about her work while Ruta Liakus and Ray Venberg enjoy Cogswell's show. , Founding Fathers , Seth Judd North (1779-1851) , One of New Britain's earliest industrialists, Seth North is often called “the Father of New Britain”. In 1812, with Alvin North and H.C. Whipple, he started New Britain's first industry, a plated wire manufacturer. In 1855, the firm became H.F. North and Co., incorporating as North and Judd in 1863. From 1832 to 1850 Seth North was also a partner with Henry Stanley in the North and Stanley Company, a bell foundry. North's most enduring legacy is perhaps his successful effort to bring the state's first teachers college (now CCSU) to New Britain. North lived his entire life in New Britain. , Frederick T. Stanley (1802-1883) , Frederick Trent Stanley was an early civic leader and arguably the city's greatest industrialist. The development of Walnut Hill Park arose from one of Stanley's visionary projects, the development of a water works. In addition to founding The Stanley Works (where he was president from the day of its founding until his death), Stanley had been the driving force in bringing the railroad to New Britain and the first locomotive to arrive in the city was named the F.T. Stanley in his honor. Stanley served as New Britain's first warden when the borough became independent from Berlin in 1850 and was elected as New Britain's first mayor in 1871. , Cornelius B. Erwin (1811-1885) , Cornelius Erwin, one of New Britain's greatest benefactors, built several successful businesses including the Russell and Erwin Manufacturing Company, and was heavily involved in the development of New Britain. The son of a shoemaker, he arrived in New Britain at the age of 21 with five dollars in his pocket, and left an estate of 1.1 million dollars. Always a generous man, Erwin bequeathed his estate to four Midwestern colleges and numerous local institutions including the New Britain Institute, Fairview Cemetery Chapel, the Erwin Home, the fund for construction of the Civil War Memorial in Central Park and the South Congregational Church. He also donated fifty thousand dollars as a permanent trust fund for Walnut Hill Park. , George M. Landers (1818-1895) , George Landers, a giant among nineteenth century industrialists, was born in Lenox, Massachusetts, and came to New Britain at the age of sixteen to learn the carpentry trade. In 1842, he built a shop on East Main Street and started to manufacture hardware. The company later became Landers, Frary and Clark. Landers served the city in many ways, including service as a director of the New Britain Gas Company, the New Britain National Bank and the Sewer Commission. He was also instrumental in the construction of the Civil War Soldiers Monument. Active in politics, Landers served three terms each in the State House of Representatives and State Senate. , William Hart (1854-1919) , Many men of New Britain's heyday were multifaceted individuals, starting and running many diverse enterprises over their careers. Not William Hart. He gave his heart, body and time to the Stanley Works over a period of more than fifty years. It's been said that the hiring of a young William Hartwas the best management decision ever made at the company. , Hart was born in New Britain in 1854 and at the age of nineteen was asked by Frederick Stanley to work at Stanley's fledgling company. Hart accepted the offer and became a one-man sales force as well as treasurer and secretary. In 1854 and again in 1855, Hart tripled the sales of the young company and in 1869 was promoted to general manager. In 1884 he assumed his final position, as president of The Stanley Works, making him in name as well as in fact, the leader of the company. William Hart will forever be remembered in manufacturing history for perfecting the process of cold rolling steel for building hardware and for inventing the telescoping box that we know so well today. Hart died in 1919 after retiring as chairman of The Stanley Works in 1918. , Justus A. Traut (1840-1908) , Justus Traut arrived in America from Germany in 1854 and embarked on a journey that would lead to his reputation of being America's most successful tool inventor. He developed, designed and patented more than 300 items, most for improvements to and accessories for the wood plane. It is said that Traut was responsible for someof the most useful, beautiful and ingenious tools ever made. Beginning in 1903 he collaborated with his son, Frank L. Traut, on the majority of his patents. Traut made the Stanley Rule and Level Company famous for its carpenter's tools and was connected with the company (which later became part of The Stanley Works) for over fifty years. , Philip Corbin (1825-1910) , New Britain is not usually associated with the manufacture of automobiles, but beginning in 1904, Philip Corbin did briefly produce the Corbin automobile here. Born in Willington, Connecticut on October 26, 1825, Corbin was raised on the family farm known today as Corbin's Corner in West Hartford. At the age of twenty he began to work for New Britain's Matterson, Russell and Erwin Company (later Russell and Erwin) where he learned the skills necessary to advance in the city's hardware industry. After gaining experience in several other companies, he formed the P&F Corbin Company with his brother Frank, producing ox balls for the horns of steer and oxen. The company grew to produce decorative builder's hardware, supplying many prominent buildings, including the Connecticut State Capitols, with Corbin products. The P&F Corbin Company eventually merged with other local manufacturers to form the American Hardware Corporation. Philip Corbin died in 1910 after a long illness and is buried in New Britain's Fairview Cemetery. , John Talcott (1824-1905) , Born in 1824, John Butler Talcott was a New Britain industrialist and philanthropist. After graduating from Yale University, he joined the North and Stanley Company where he remained for the next fifty years. Like many of New Britain's early industrialists, Talcott had many business interests in the city, establishing the American Hosiery Company in 1868 and serving as president of the New Britain Knitting Company in 1883. In addition, he also served on the board of directors for many other New Britain companies and was mayor of the city in 1880 and 1881. Talcott is today perhaps best recognized for donating the funding to establish the New Britain Museum of American Art in 1903. He died two yeas later and is buried in Hartford's Cedar Hill Cemetery. , [Captions] , . Left column (top to bottom): Seth Judd North (1779-1851) . Cornelius B. Erwin (1811-1885) . William Hart (1854-1919) . Philip Corbin (1825-1910) , . Right column (top to bottom): Frederick T. Stanley (1802-1883) . George M. Landers (1818-1895) . Justus A. Traut (1840-1908) . John Talcott (1824-1905)