Modern Exhibit Builds on Community

The Westport Historical Society's current exhibit, "Westport Modern:  When Cool was Hot!" is a celebration of community in both content and spirit.

The exhibit showcases local examples of mid-20th century architecture, advocates the preservation of modern architecture and outlines the evolution of the genre.

Further, the society is partnering with the Westport Library as well as local theater groups, filmmakers and architects to present events that complement this exhibit.

"Westport Modern:  When Cool was Hot!" which is an interactive, multimedia display,  was inspired by modern houses that have been razed to make room for new buildings, points out Mollie Donovan, who is a co-chair of the exhibit.

The exhibit highlights a Westport home, created by architect Paul Rudolph and built in 1972, that was demolished in 2007. The efforts to save the building represent the first time that the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation initiated a lawsuit to prevent the destruction of a historic property.

"The mission of the Westport Historical Society is preservation," explained Donovan. "Although the modern-style buildings are not old, they will soon be turning 50, which makes them accountable to the Historic District Commission before they can be torn down."

More than 25 examples of modern architecture  are featured in the exhibit, including a recently rediscovered Gregory Ain residence that is home to a young family, plus the two Westport-based public buildings by Victor Lundy­ – the Unitarian Church and Hillspoint School .

As part of the current exhibit, organizers strove to find vibrant examples of modern architecture as well as provide a history of each dwelling. "We go beyond the house and the architect and explored why the houses exist here," Donovan said. "These houses have flat roofs and the windows are not double-paned … they are not designed for New England winters. To explain this phenomenon we had to look at what was happening nationally, internationally and right here in Westport."

To help orient the viewer and present the subject matter in its proper social context, the exhibit features  decade-by-decade timelines, spanning from 1930 to 1960, which list events and show photos of milestones that were part of each era.

The history lesson starts with the 1930s, noting that the speakeasy days of prohibition ended in1933 – and that in an effort to help the country recover from a decade-long depression, President Franklin Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration to put people to work. 

During the same decade, the closing of the famous Bauhaus School by the Nazis left its staff jobless and unwelcome in Germany and Bauhaus architects such as Walter Grophius, Mies van der Rohe and  Marcel Breuer  immigrated  to the United States.

Their arrival accelerated the growth of the modernism movement as the genre was readily accepted by the post-war generation, eager and open to testing its new technologies, materials and ways of living. The 1939 World's Fair also showed the masses that a modern home was attainable by the every-day man.

In addition to highlighting  the local works of well-known modern architects such as John  Johansen, Mies van der Rohe, Allen Gelbin, Victor Lundy, Gregory Ain, Richard Neutra and Larry Michaels, the society's exhibit, "Victor Civkin: Modern Genius Rediscovered" mounted in the Little Gallery, introduces the viewer to Civkin, who, after escaping from Russia  in the 1920s, settled  in this community. 

Employed by General Electric, Civkin was responsible for the interior design  of GE's exhibit, "The World of Tomorrow," at the New York 1939 World's Fair and the design of a kitchen for the FDR White House.

Following World War II, he was the architect of the GE-sponsored Young American Homes built in 74 locations across the country. After his retirement from GE, he opened his own architectural practice, completing more than 900 commissions. His daughter and granddaughter, Westporters Rena and Carla Schine, will participate in a panel discussion about the architect that will take place at the historical society on Sunday, March 21.

The historical society's exhibit also features a vignette developed by Jane Swergold, adjunct professor at Fairfield University, where she teaches a History of Furniture course. The vignette showcases the colors, furniture, floor cover and accessories of the period.

A lecture on April 27 by  Swergold  will explore  the high points of Mid-Century furniture.  

Five additional events will take place during the run of the exhibit, which concludes May 1

• The When Cool Was Hot! Film Series will take place at the Westport Public Library Feb. 28 with the showing of The Fountainhead and March 20 with the airing of North By Northwest. 

• A documentary 1939: I Have Seen the Future by Westport filmmaker Lisa Seidenberg, which offers a contemporary look back at the future envisioned by visitors to the 1939 New York Worlds Fair, will have its premiere showing on  March 4.

• A  Play it Cool Theatre Lunch, produced by Play with Your Food takes place at Westport Historical Society on March 18.

• A panel discussion,"Victor Civkin, Rediscovered," with Civkin's daughter, granddaughter, and Civkin expert Mark R. Halstead, AIA will be held on March 21.

• A guided tour, "The Unitarian Church:  Still Cool at 50" is planned for April 13.

"Westport Modern:  When Cool was Hot!" is the fourth exhibit the Westport Historical Society has dedicated to the preservation of the town's housing heritage  and the first exhibit dedicated specifically to mid-20th-century modern dwellings. 

 For more information and to make reservations, call  203-221-1424 or visit    www.westporthistory.org.