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New Exhibit at the King Caesar House: “Artist in Residence” Spring 2007
Madame Weber-Fulop was born to relatively wealthy parents in Budapest, Hungary in 1883. At some point in her childhood, the family relocated to Vienna, Austria. World War I brought financial disaster. Madame Weber-Fulop (or “Lisl” as she was known) and her three sisters assumed the responsibility of supporting their parents and other relatives. She had studied art in Paris, where she demonstrated considerable talent as a painter of portraits, landscapes, still life and room interiors. It occurred to her, that she could make more money to contribute to family support if she worked in America. Family tradition has it that she went first to New York City. It is believed she also spent time painting in Washington, DC and in Charleston, SC. By the 1930s she was enjoying considerable success in Memphis, Tennessee, where she painted portraits for many of the city’s prominent families. As one of her subjects said recently, “Everybody who was somebody in Memphis had to have his or her portrait painted by Madame Weber-Fulop.” While there she also painted magnificent portraits of rooms in a number of beautiful homes, including the living room of the man who ran Memphis, “Boss Crump.” During the 1950s, while living in the King Caesar House, she painted a portrait of Boss Crump. The early 1940s found Weber-Fulop and her husband, Emil, in a small upstate New York town, Gilbertsville, where they became acquainted with Gilbert and Madeleine Francke from Duxbury. While painting their portraits, the Weber-Fulops and the Franke family became close friends. It was this friendship that brought the Viennese painter to Duxbury, where she, Emil and their friends Alice Moran and Gunter Shultz settled into a quiet, sea-side home. During the next two decades Elizabeth Weber-Fulop painted dozens of portraits of Duxbury residents, as well as landscapes and interiors in her old carriage house studio. Upon her husband’s death in 1963, Madame Weber-Fulop decided she would, after many years, return to Austria. She asked her family there to set up a studio in Vienna. When the King Caesar House was placed on the market in 1965, the Duxbury Rural and Historical Society was galvanized. Having long out-grown “Historical Rooms” in the Drew House, and recognizing the historical importance of King Caesar’s house, the Society knew it was time to act. Notes kept by then President William Nash describe many discussions with Elisabeth Weber-Fulop and Alice Moran. The elderly women wanted to sell the house, while hating the thought of leaving it. But if it had to be sold, there could be no better buyer than the Duxbury Rural and Historical Society. After a short but intense fundraising campaign, the Society purchased the house on November 6, 1965. It would be nearly two years before the house would open to the public. Madame Weber-Fulop died quite unexpectedly while still a resident, and then there were months and months of restoration work to be accomplished. The King Caesar House was finally dedicated as a museum on June 25, 1967. This summer, the Potter Gallery (once Madame Weber-Fulop’s studio) at the King Caesar House will feature an exhibit titled, “Artist in Residence: The Work of Elisabeth Weber-Fulop.” Coordinated by Sally Redmond, chair of the Exhibit Committee, Barbara Lamarche, Vice Chair of the Committee, and Bob Hale, chair of the Collections Committee, the exhibit will include numerous Weber-Fulop paintings and sketches—both finished works and works set aside when in progress. A number of these are from the Society’s own collection. Others have been loaned by Duxbury residents who were painted by Madame Weber-Fulop. Thanks to research by Bob Hale, the painting “Boss Crump’s Living Room” is being loaned by the Renaissance Gallery in Charleston, South Carolina. To celebrate the opening of the exhibit, the Society will hold a reception that is open to the public, on June 23, 2007 from 5-7 p.m. It has been scheduled on the 40th anniversary (almost to the day) of the dedication of the house by the Society. Everyone is invited to help celebrate the anniversary and the work of Elizabeth Weber-Fulop, a Viennese painter and the last private owner of King Caesar’s house. On Thursday, July 19, Bob Hale will give the first of the Society’s annual King Caesar Morning Lectures. His topic will be Madame Weber-Fulop and the transition of the house from private ownership to the museum it is today. We hope you will join us for both these events. # |
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On
October 15, 1945, as troops were returning to the U.S. and rationing of fuel and
other items was just coming to an end, a Viennese artist purchased a house in
Duxbury, Massachusetts. We can only imagine what drew her to the precise spot,
although the old yellow house had numerous qualities that would attract any
would-be homeowner. Even if a bit rough around the edges, the property
commanded a beautiful view of Duxbury Bay, and it had a distinguished history.
Perhaps the carriage house caught her eye. The barn-like extension off the back
could easily be converted into a spacious studio with a cathedral ceiling and a
large wall of windows with northern exposure. Whatever the reason, she and her
husband Emil purchased it, and would live in King Caesar’s House until their
deaths, his in 1963, hers in 1966.