Learn about the unconventional Marie Zimmerman at open house

DINGMANS FERRY — The Friends of Marie Zimmermann and the National Park Service will host Marie Zimmerman Day to pay tribute to the unconventional craftsman who made Dingmans Ferry home.
The open house is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 16, at the Zimmerman house, a national historic site off Route 209 (six miles below Milford, and 1.7 miles above the Rute 439 intersection, at Zimmerman Farm Road between mile markers 14 and 15.
The day includes a tour and refreshments to celebrate Zimmerman's birthday.
Marie Zimmermann (1879-1972) was an American designer and maker of jewelry and metalwork noted for fine craftsmanship and innovative design in a variety of different mediums and styles. Calling herself “a craftsman” rather than an artist, Zimmerman was inspired by Cellini and Michelangelo to master and employ many different crafts in her work such as metalsmithing, carving, painting, and sculpting. Much of her eclectic work was inspired by diverse historical precedents, including ancient Egyptian, Classical and Chinese forms. She experimented freely with materials, surface, color and applied ornament. Many of the pieces Zimmerman created were useful as well as decorative. A 1926 article in the Brooklyn Eagle by Harriette Ashbrook called her “perhaps the most versatile artist in the country."
The daughter of prosperous Swiss immigrants, Marie Zimmermann was born and raised in Brooklyn. She lived and ran her studio at the National Arts Club in New York from about 1910 to 1937.
In 1940, Zimmerman closed her studio and retired to Dingmans Ferry. Her whole family had died during a span of five years. The government was also urging her to do better bookkeeping, especially in regards to the valuable materials she was using.
The Marie Zimmermann Farm was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
For more about the open house call 570-828-1441 or 570-296-6753.