The Chester Springs Studio

Site 4

When Albert Laessle, the noted animal sculptor, joined the Country School faculty in the summer of 1921, he taught his Sculpture Class in this 18th-century barn, converted by the Academy into a studio. The “New Studio” offered a large north-facing skylight and, on the south side, a balcony overlooking the meadow, the tennis courts, and the water gardens. As you stroll through the meadow later, you may catch a glimpse of one of the lively models that posed for this delightful picture on the tennis courts. The instructor in the photograph of the Portrait Class is Mildred Miller.

The Chester Springs Studio, in cooperation with the PAFA, carries on the tradition of animal sculpture today. The Studio also offers artists’ residencies and a variety of art programs, classes, and exhibitions for adults and children. It is privately owned and operated.

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Follow the road cast from the Chester Springs Studio to the next marker, which is in front of a picturesque little house (at one time the “house by the Post Office”) that was a popular subject of the student artists.