Pursuant to a patron request for information on an old Kings Point estate, we discovered that Hamilton Easter Field (1873–1922), a prominent artist, patron of the arts, gallery owner, arts publisher, and supporter of early American modernism, once lived in Great Neck. Hamilton Easter Field lived with his parents and his brother Edward in a large, waterfront estate called Ardsley (possibly spelled Ardesley), which sat at the end of Red Brook Road. The family lived at Ardsley between the 1890’s and 1910’s (we have yet to determine exact dates for their residence in Great Neck). Hamilton's parents, Aaron Field and Lydia Seaman Haviland Field were prominent Quakers. Aaron Field could trace his family tree in the New World back to Robert Field, who came from York England to Massachusetts in 1630. Works by Hamilton Easter Field are in the collection of The Brooklyn Museum (see 2nd link below). The Hamilton Easter Field Art Foundation Collection, which contains works created and collected by Mr. Field, is kept at The Portland Museum of Art in Portland, Maine (see 1st link below). Hamilton Easter Field is perhaps best remembered today as an early supporter of the American modernist movement. He wrote extensively about the movement, collected the work of other early American modernists, showed their work, arranged shows for them, and generally helped them out, finding them work and patrons, and even housing and feeding them.
The Hamilton Easter Field Art Foundation Collection at The Portland Museum of Art
Hamilton Easter Field works in the Brooklyn Museum
Hamilton Easter Field, Self-Portrait, circa 1898, oil on panel, 24" x 18", in the The Hamilton Easter Field Art Foundation Collection, Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Maine.