The famed artist retreat Yaddo in Saratoga Springs was founded more than a century ago and for the first time in its storied history, the organization’s records will be on display to the public.

Displaying the records will be the New York Public Library located in New York City. They acquired the Yaddo archives nine years ago and now will host a multimedia exhibition titled Yaddo: Making American Culture. It will explore Yaddo’s history and its role in shaping 20th century American arts and culture from the years 1870 to 1980. The exhibition will open October 24 and be on view until February 15, 2009 in the D. Samuel and Jeane H. Gottesman Exhibition Hall of the Humanities and Social Sciences Library.

“The Yaddo records are a prized holding of The New York Public Library,” stated Paul LeClerc, President and CEO of the NYPL, in a written statement. “We take great pride in being able to offer the public access to materials that were once only accessible by a few. Our collection of Yaddo materials and the exhibition itself will be an exciting and eye-opening experience for anyone with interest in American culture and the arts.”

The exhibition will include archives, letters, photographs, artworks, application files, film clips and sound recordings drawn from the Yaddo archives. It will be divided into seven somatically-themed sections that address everything from Yaddo as a refuge for artists to a place where the line between high and low culture was negotiated.

Exhibition curator Micki McGee said Yaddo was integral in bringing together some of the most important 20th century artists since opening in 1926, including composer Leonard Bernstein, writer Truman Capote and Harlem renaissance poet Langston Hughes.

“Many 20th century artists either had their start at Yaddo at the very beginning of their careers or found the time and resources at Yaddo essential to continuing their work,” she said

McGee added that what Yaddo artists often say they enjoy most about Yaddo is the quiet time from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the relief of some of the stresses from everyday life, including the hustle and bustle of the city.

“It’s the kind of refuge where they are alone but not lonely. Where they have a kind of solitude, but also a sense of community and in that context it is very productive,” she said. “It is a type of balance between the kind of solitude that is essential for the reflection that makes an extraordinary work and the sense of community that insulates you from the isolation that could stagger creative work. It’s this immense kind of balance that Yaddo creates for its artists that is its real strength.”

Aside from exploring Yaddo’s history and how it fostered some of the legendary artists of the 20th century, the exhibition will also explore such events that shaped Yaddo as the economic and social turmoil of the 1930s, the tribulations of the second World War, the character defamation that went along with Communism, the racial divide of the Jim Crow era and the women’s and gay rights movements.

Another interesting facet to the exhibition will be the inclusion of Yaddo’s large dining room table, where many of the guests gathered over the years to form enduring friendships and where a great portion of America’s artistic heritage was born, McGee said.

“I think something that will be interesting is that the exhibition will be very interactive,” Yaddo President Elaina Richardson said. “You can actually sit at the Trask’s dining room table and on their furniture and go through the files. It is not going to be one of those ‘don’t touch behind glass’ sort of shows.” 

Richardson added that she felt this aspect of the exhibition would be great for everyone from

local kids who talk about Yaddo for their history projects to all those who have spent time at the facility throughout the years.

The exhibition is also accompanied by an illustrated companion volume, edited by McGee and published by Columbia University Press, a festival of public events and two film series. The first film series will feature films based on the works of Yaddo artists and the second will be works by filmmakers who visited Yaddo over the years.

There will also be a total of fifteen exhibitions presented at libraries and archives nationwide throughout 2008 and 2009. The Saratoga Springs Public Library will be one of the institutions participating. They will hold their exhibition called “The Yaddo Experience” on Sunday, Oct. 19 at 2 p.m. in the library’s Community Room.

“We are thrilled because we are so well known locally, but this gives us a national profile that makes it clear to people that in the significant moment in American culture, Yaddo plays a role,” Richardson said.

The Yaddo archives have been part of The New York Public Library’s Manuscripts and Archives Division since 1999, when it was purchased through a grant and various donations.

According to Richardson the contract was structured so archives would go in installments through 2026 – the hundredth anniversary of Yaddo officially inviting guests.

Yaddo was founded in 1900 by financer and philanthropist Spencer Trask and his wife Katrina.

It rests on a 400-acre wooded estate in Saratoga Springs and first opened as a colony for aspiring artists in 1926. Artists who have worked at Yaddo have garnered 63 Pulitzer Prizes, 58 National Book Awards, 24 MacArthur “genius” awards, 8 Emmy Awards, a Nobel Prize and numerous other honors.