analogconvert13

By analogconvert13

Norse? Leitz Summaron 35mm

I noticed the unusual polychrome decoration on this Brookline mansion yesterday, and went back for a Blip.  My first impression from the gargoyle was an echo of Norse mythology.  This article  from the Brookline Historical Society's website about the place, built in 1880, says otherwise:
76 High (1880), is one of the most unusual buildings in Brookline. Built for Edward Stanwood and designed by Clarence Luce, it is a true example of the English Victorian Queen Anne style, which inspired the American version of Queen Anne. The tile roof and tile siding are typical of the English Queen Anne but the roof tiles were unusual here and such typical English "tile hung" siding was almost completely unknown in the U.S. Also characteristic of the English Queen Anne are the decorative terra cotta and carved wood panels, and the typical Queen Anne sunflower design. The gargoyles embarrassed Stanwood, publisher of the extremely influential The Youth’s Companion, who became known as the man with "the house of sunflowers and devils." It also has interior murals and a stained glass window by Thomas Wilmer Dewing dating from the time of its construction. The 2009 owners carefully restored the exterior polychrome decorations, which had all been painted over and uncovered the Dewing murals and stencil-work decorations that had been covered with wallpaper.

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