The buildings of Louis Sheldon Newton are found throughout the Upper Valley. You may have driven by them on your way to work or home: many of the homes on Main Street in Hartford Village were designed by Newton, as well as buildings in White River Junction, Enfield, Hanover and Woodstock.
Newton also redesigned (or irrevocably altered, depending on your perspective) the Old Constitution House in Windsor, where the state’s first constitution was signed in 1777. Once the building was moved from downtown Windsor to its present site north of town, Newton added a porch and columns to what had been an authentic 18th century tavern.
In Vermont, Old Constitution House is something of an icon. It’s a good bet, though, that most of us don’t know when we’re looking at a Newton building. A traveling exhibition about his work aims to renew interest in his career, which ran from the 1890s until his death in 1953.
Now at the Royalton Memorial Library in South Royalton, the small show, curated by Martha Knapp, director of the Hartford Historical Society, and John Dumville, a Royalton native and former State Owned Historic Sites section chief, will continue on to the Hartford Historical Society in June.
Newton, born in 1871 in Hartford, apprenticed with an architect in Boston to learn the trade, Knapp said in an interview at Royalton Memorial Library, itself a Newton design that was completed in 1923.
The exhibition consists of photographs of Newton himself, the buildings he designed in the White River Valley, and some accompanying documentation.
Newton was a versatile, sought-after architect who did both commercial buildings — the TipTop bakery in downtown White River Junction, the Woodstock Bank, and Hildreth’s in Lebanon — and houses for affluent residents of Hartford Village and Hanover. Seven houses on Occom Ridge in Hanover are Newton designs.
He wasn’t an innovator, particularly, but he had the ability to design buildings that seemed of a piece with their environment.
“He was very eclectic,” Dumville said. “He started off in the Victorian era and moved to Colonial Revival.”
The main street of Hartford Village boasts a number of Newton’s Colonial Revival alterations to mansions for well-to-do residents, among them the Cone Mansion, which is now painted yellow and is near the corner of Route 14 and Christian Street. He also designed the interior of the United Church of Christ in Hartford Village. And the tiny brick building on Main Street, next to the 1828 red brick Federal style Wyllys Lyman House, served for a time as Newton’s office.
Newton became identified with the Colonial Revival style, which resurrected 18th- and early 19th-century Georgian architecture.
“When people of prominence wanted work done they called him,” Knapp said.
Newton moved to Burlington at age 50, where he branched into Art Deco and took a stab at modernism, although Colonial Revival was his strong suit, and what brought him the most work, either designing or altering private homes.
He did have more unorthodox assignments that landed at opposite ends of the social spectrum. He designed a dog house for Electra Havemeyer Webb, founder of the Shelburne Museum, and a pre-fab house for Sears, Roebuck.
For a view of Newton’s work, drive along Route 14 in Hartford Village, then wander across to White River Junction to view the Tip Top Building, and what used to be the White River Savings Bank, a handsome red brick building that abuts the Center for Cartoon Studies. The building is notable for its elegant Palladian window, which breaks up the facade.
Knapp and Dumville will give a talk about Newton at Royalton Memorial Library on Wednesday, May 4, from 7 to 8 p.m. The show is on view through June 4.
The exhibit will then travel to the Hartford Historical Society, opening on June 22 at 7 p.m. with an introductory presentation for Hartford citizens. The exhibit will close on Aug. 31.
Abstract oil paintings by Charlotte, Vt. artist James Vogler are on view at the White River Gallery at BALE in South Royalton. “Who Turned on the Light” opens this Saturday with a reception from 4 to 6 p.m. Vogler will give a talk at 5 p.m. The show runs through June.
An exhibition of work by employees and volunteers at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center opens today with a reception from 5 to 6:30 p.m. The show includes watercolors by Marlene Kramer, digital art by Eric Hasse, photographs by John Rush, oil paintings by Emily Ridgway, and pastels, acrylics and oils by Gail Barton. The reception will take place at the 4th floor south information desk near the parking garage entrance. The show runs through June.
Arabella, Windsor. The gallery exhibits works by local artists and artisans in a variety of media including jewelry, oils, acrylics, photography, watercolors, pastels and textiles.
ArtisTree Gallery, South Pomfret. A show inspired by mud season goes through April 30.
Claremont Opera House. Paintings by David Nelson, a Dublin, N.H., artist, are on view in the exhibition “Art is Visual Philosophy,” in the John D. Bennet Atrium Gallery. The show runs through April 30.
Converse Free Library, Lyme. The collages of Barbara Newton can be seen through June 30.
Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College, Hanover. The work of Eric Van Hove is on view in the Jaffe-Friede Gallery through May 1. Dartmouth College professor of Studio Art Louise Hamlin has a show of “Garlic Scapes: Drawings and Prints” in the Strauss Gallery.
Howe Library, Hanover. “Route 66 in Oklahoma — What Once Was As it is Now,” a show of photographs by Rich Perry, runs through April 27.
Kilton Public Library, West Lebanon. An exhibition of art work by West Lebanon students runs through May 31.
Library Arts Center, Newport. “Selections: Winners from the 2015 Juried Regional Exhibit” runs through Friday.
Long River Gallery and Gifts, Lyme. The Japanese-inspired works of Kathleen Swift are on view through May 2.
Main Street Museum of Art, White River Junction. “Odalesque and Other Recent Paintings,” by Daisy Rockwell, are on view.
Norwich Public Library. An exhibition of nature photographs by Mary Gerakeris runs through April 29.
Scavenger Gallery, White River Junction. Works by Stacy Hopkins, Toby Bartles, Lois Beatty and Ria Blaas are on view.
Tunbridge Public Library. “National Park Landscapes: Celebrating National Park Service Centennial 2016,” an exhibition of landscape paintings by Royalton artist Joan Hoffmann, continues through May 12.
Two Rivers Printmaking Studio, White River Junction. Vermont printmaker Lynn Newcomb exhibits her prints at Two Rivers Printmaking Studio; the show runs through April 30.
Norman Williams Library, Woodstock. “Vermont Is On Our Minds,” an exhibition of work by artists from Zack’s Place, continues through May 14.
Zollikofer Gallery, Hotel Coolidge, White River Junction. A show of works by students from the Center for Cartoon Studies runs through May 11.
Nicola Smith can be reached at nsmith@vnews.com.