Artful Retreat
New owners honor and refresh Norman Rockwell’s southern Vermont home BY M E L I S S A PA S A NE N
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ome historic buildings, including Vermont inns, come with ghosts. But the new owners of a colonialera inn in Arlington inherited a different set of visitors from the past: corporeal and always friendly. In late fall 2019, Kevin and Sue Harter moved from northern Connecticut to buy what was then called the Norman Rockwell Studio and Inn, since renamed Rockwell’s Retreat. As the names indicate, the property has a strong connection to one of America’s most beloved painters and illustrators, whose depictions of everyday life graced the covers of the Saturday Evening Post for almost half a century. Rockwell resided in Arlington from 1939 to 1953. For a decade, he lived in the main house that is now the inn’s central building and painted in the larger of two studios in which guests can now book a stay. The Harters knew that along with the original structure dating back to 1792, they were also becoming stewards of a slice of treasured Americana. Kevin noted that Rockwell’s Vermont tenure was especially prolific and included his famous wartime series, “Four Freedoms.” What the couple did not realize was how many Vermonters retained a deep fondness for the artist’s former home through their experience of modeling for his work. Last November, the Harters had barely closed on the business when the first of Rockwell’s former models dropped by. “I was in the little studio in the crawl space draining the pipes,” Kevin recalled. “It was muddy and cold and wet, and I’m feeling sorry for myself thinking, What the heck did we just do? And then this car pulled up and an older guy gets out of the car, and he introduces himself as Buddy Edgerton.” ARTFUL RETREAT
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SEVEN DAYS STAYTRIPPER DECEMBER 2020
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INFO Rockwell’s Retreat, 3587 River Rd., Arlington, 430-7327, rockwellsretreat.com.
The restored artist studio
A common space in the Norman Rockwell Studio