Marie Zimmerman and the Big Reveal
Milford. Twenty-five works of the arts and crafts era metal and worker artist Marie Zimmerman will be on indefinite loan to Friends of Marie Zimmerman and on display at the mansion.
| 23 Apr 2025 | 03:24
The arts and crafts era metal and worker artist Marie Zimmerman.
The Zimmerman Mansion, or the more familiar the Zimmermann Farm. The historic estate of acclaimed arts and crafts era metalworker Marie Zimmermann sits perched above the wild and scenic Delaware River in the DEWA National Recreation Area. Built in 1912, the stone mansion of Marie’s design was the country getaway of the Brooklyn based Zimmermann family and eventually the full-time home of the artist and her partner Ruth Allen.
Wrought iron and copper log holder (69 X 76 X 54 cm). From “The Jewelry and Metalwork of Marie Zimmermann” by Waters, Cunningham, Barnes and Ahara. Photo by David Cole, American Decorative Art 1900 Foundation.
Excitement is building as the time gets closer to the Big Reveal Party at the Zimmerman Mansion, set for Saturday, May 10, at 5 p.m.
Twenty-five works of Marie Zimmerman’s art have recently been released by her family (the Zimmerman family foundation in New Hampshire) and will be on indefinite loan to Friends of Marie Zimmerman and on display at the mansion.
These pieces are all wrought iron and many think they are among her best work.
Marie Zimmerman was born in 1879 and died in 1972. The daughter of a wealthy family, she studied art at the Pratt Institute in New York City, and later in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts.
She retreated to the mansion in Pike County to pursue her career as a metal artist. This mansion, also called the “farm” or the “estate” is on a large parcel of land above Route 209 overlooking many trees and the river. The view is bucolic. Zimmerman spent her days there with her lifetime companion, Ruth Allen, in this isolated place where they would hunt, fish and enjoy the outdoors.
The mansion is now part of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, and the National Park Service manages the property. “The Friends of Marie Zimmermann Home & Farm” is a non-profit organization that works with the park service to maintain and promote the property.
They will be hosting The Big Reveal. Max Brinson, the president of “The Friends of Marie Zimmerman” since 2013, is committed to getting people to know her work.
“Her work,” Brinson said, “can be seen as a bridge between the decorative arts of the Arts and Craft movement and the more streamlined industrial designs of the Art Deco period.”
Zimmerman was well-known and beloved as an artist. Her works were displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and elsewhere.. She also worked in gold, silver, bronze and copper.
She made fine jewelry in addition to the large wrought iron pieces. Much of her art is in museums and with collectors.
Many of the dealers who handled her jewelry and table objects were not familiar with her iron works, which makes The Big Reveal even more significant. There will be two beds, two large candelabras, a wrought iron and copper log holder and a plant stand, among other things.
The celebration will be at the Zimmerman house on Saturday, May 10 at 5 p.m. There will be a lavish dinner including a pig roast and wild game sausages– food that Zimmerman would have liked.
Tickets are $100 per person and can be purchased at https://events.eventgroove.com/.../Reveal-Party-At-The...
The entrance is on Route 209 at Zimmerman Farm Road about 6 miles south of Milford, right after mile marker 15. From Dingmans Ferry, drive north on US 209 for about 1.7 miles to the South Gate. The house is handicapped accessible.
Contact: Friends of Marie Zimerman.com.