INTEREST
I met a lot of people in Europe. I even encountered myself. James Baldwin
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Travel has always been extremely important to me. In 1998 I had the opportunity to go to La Napoule France, where my Father and his colleagues run a Studio Art Program for the Department of Art, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. I attended the program again in 2000 and in 2002, the program changed my life in many ways; most notably instilling a permanent love of travel.
The Summer Studio Program in France offers students an environment conducive to pursuing creative work and a European experience where travel and the study of art on location are an integrated part of the studio program. The chateau is located about three miles west of Cannes on the beautiful French Riviera.
Studio workshops, unlike formal classes, are structured around working artists in residence who share their expertise, experience and points of view through daily studio practice and critiques. The program stresses a strong work orientation and self-motivation.
In 1918, when the Chateau de La Napoule, lay in a state of near ruin, it was purchased by American artists Marie and Henry Clews. The couple rebuilt the structure using old prints and paintings as a guide. They salvaged only those parts of the chateau which were authentic and sound. They lived on the chateau grounds and worked on its restoration, adding the sculpture and ornamentation which we see today. Many of Henry's sculptures are still located at the chateau, and his studio survives just as he left it. Mary Clews also designed and had built the four acres of formal gardens. After Henry's death in 1937, Marie stayed on until the German Army occupied the chateau.
 Chateau de La Napoule, site of the Department of Art's Summer Program in Studio Art, La Napoule, France © 2007 PI Productions |
History of the Chateau
As far back as 600 B.C. Celtic peoples occupied the area around La Napoule. During Roman times it was a command post, called Manduolocus, and it was where the local leader resided. This area is part of the region which Julius Caesar described in his treatise on the Gallic Wars. During the Gallo-Roman epoch a farming villa existed on the land where the chateau is located. Its foundations were discovered under the remains of an 11th century church in the area across the street from the chateau. Originally a Roman fortress, one of the Roman towers still remains. The chateau was occupied and successively destroyed and rebuilt by many people including the Saracens, the Villanueva family, and the Duke de Savoy.
In 1918, when the chateau lay in a state of near ruin, it was purchased by American artists Marie and Henry Clews. The couple rebuilt the structure using old prints and paintings as a guide. They salvaged only those parts of the chateau which were authentic and sound. They lived on the chateau grounds and worked on its restoration, adding the sculpture and ornamentation which we see today.
Many of Henry's sculptures are still located at the chateau, and his studio survives just as he left it. Mary Clews also designed and had built the four acres of formal gardens. After Henry's death in 1937, Marie stayed on until the German Army occupied the chateau.
After the war, Marie Clews returned in 1951 and established the La Napoule Foundation. The Henry Clews Memorial is an American foundation, which hopes to promote the development of cultural relations between the United States and France and preserve and exhibit the works of Henry Clews. It is in this historic chateau, its studios and spacious gardens that students live and work during this summer program.
sharpen our ability to scrutinize more steadily, to appreciate more lovingly, our own. Margaret Mead
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by Ben Coblyn. All rights reserved.