Williamstown - The summer exhibition in the Chapin Library of Rare Books, Williams College, features designs for theatre by Dutch-American artist Herman Rosse.
Born in the Netherlands in 1887, Rosse first gained fame for his decorative interior designs in the Peace Palace at The Hague. Later he moved to California, and from there to Chicago and finally to New City in Rockland County, New York. He worked as a teacher of design, and as an architect, decorator, and book illustrator, and lent his talents to productions for stage and screen, most notably the 1930 film King of Jazz for which he won the Academy Award for Art Direction. Since 1988 members of the artist’s family have supported the Herman Rosse archive in the Chapin Library to document his work in its many aspects.
For the current exhibition, Chapin Library staff have drawn from the Herman Rosse archive a variety of books, manuscripts, paintings, drawings, and memorabilia which illustrate his work in theatre.
Among these are architectural plans for a theatre in Palo Alto, California, drawn by Rosse between 1915 and 1920, and ephemera from the 1917 season of the San Francisco Little Theatre with which he was closely involved.
During the 1920s Rosse distinguished himself by an innovative production at the Art Institute of Chicago, The Drama of the Nativity, drawings and photographs of which are in the exhibition, by proposals for scenery projected from film, by interior designs for the “movie palaces†then popular in the United States, and by his sets and costumes for New York revues such as the 1922 Ziegfeld Follies.
Rosse’s later work is also well represented in the display, by drawings and models for the London production Bow Bells, set designs for Show Boat at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey, where for a dozen years he was Resident Stage Designer, and proposals for theatres in the round and a “bridged aisle†method of seating. In 1949 he won the competition to design the medallion for the Tony Award, the silver prototype of which is on view.
“Herman Rosse: Designs for Theatre†will be on view through September 16, 2005.
A major painting by Rosse, Carnival of Life, was recently placed on permanent display in the ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance at Williams College. Meant to be an allegory of the theatre in its triumphs and tribulations, Carnival of Life is based on the imaginary life of three of the characters of the Italian Commedia del’Arte, Pierrot, Pierrette, and Harlequin, together with Aphrodite and Cupid from classical mythology.
The Chapin Library is located on the second floor of Stetson Hall, north of Main Street on the Williams College campus. Adjacent parking is available behind Thompson Memorial Chapel. The Library is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, phone (413) 597-2462 during library hours, e-mail to Wayne.G.Hammond@williams.edu, or go to the Library web site at http://www.williams.edu/resources/chapin.
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Former Harry's Supermarket Under Construction for Restaurant
Late last month, the Conservation Commission greenlit some tree pruning on the property. New windows and a new door can be seen in the front of the building.
"It's a substantial renovation that's currently underway here," Brent White of White Engineering said, speaking on behalf of the applicant and owner, Huajie Zhu.
A fire gutted the longtime Wahconah Street supermarket in 2023, and the following year, Zhu purchased the property for $460,000 two years ago to build a restaurant with hibachi in the existing footprint of the more than 100-year-old building.
White explained that the project has been ongoing for over a year, and the Community Development Board granted the property a waiver to reduce the minimum required number of parking spaces so that additional spaces aren't needed.
He noted that, looking at the site plan, there is very little room to do so. A mirror will be installed near the sharp turn on Bel Air Avenue to alleviate traffic concerns.
Pruning will be done on trees in the southeast corner of the existing paved parking lot, as a number of branches are hanging over. The new owners also intend to patch, sealcoat, and re-stripe the parking lot.
A fire tore through the building less than an hour after the supermarket closed for the day three years ago. An automatic sprinkler system is required for the new use.
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