Hilltop House and Studio

April 30, 2021: STOCKBRIDGE, MASS. —

The National Trust for Historic Preservation announced today that four new sites have been accepted into their prestigious Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios (HAHS) program. All four sites — Hilltop House, The Victor D’Amico Institute of Art, Pond Farm and Saarinen House — are the preserved homes and studios of significant American women artists and are open to the public.

HAHS is deeply committed to representing the full breadth and diversity of our country’s artistic legacy through preserved places nationwide. The sites selected also capture the spirit of the National Trust’s larger initiative, Where Women Made History, a national campaign to identify, honor and elevate places across the country where women have changed their communities and the world. Read the full article HERE.

Cazenovia heritage organizations to celebrate National Preservation Month

This May, a group of local heritage organizations is coming together to celebrate National Preservation Month.

Organized by Stone Quarry Hill Art Park (SQHAP), Cazenovia Preservation Foundation (CPF), Lorenzo State Historic Site, Cazenovia Public Library (CPL), and the newly formed Cazenovia Heritage, the celebration will include a number of community events and activities. Read the full article HERE.

Where Sculpture, Landscape, and Creativity Meet: The Dorothy Riester Home and Studio

When looking at a sculpture by Dorothy Riester, it is easy to get lost following the lines of the bended metal as you strive to understand where the physical material ends and the form begins. Only when you step back do you see the sculpture as it was meant to be seen, where the space surrounding the piece is an integral part of the whole. The same can be said for Riester herself, where her life and work is intertwined with her home and studio...

Read the entire article on the National Trust for Historic Preservation's webiste HERE.

Look forward to hitting the road (virtually) this Spring and Summer to visit 6 amazing Historic Artists' Homes and Studios (HAHS) sites, the Hilltop House and Studio included!

Join us for a virtual road trip across the United States to explore unique and wholly original historic artist homes and studios. Traveling from Idaho to New York, we'll discover the environments, architecture, and private landscapes of six different artists, as well as the spaces that supported their art-making practices. This six-part, monthly series ventures deep into the museums and preserved spaces that nurtured the creation of thousands of American artworks. Fueled by the James Castle House and the Historic Artists' Homes and Studios (HAHS) program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Hilltop House and Studio is the final stop of this road trip, taking place August 9, 2021 (12pm PST/3pm ET)

Events are offered virtually and free of charge upon registration.

Join us for an unforgettable journey in Spring and Summer 2021.

Learn more and register HERE

CAZENOVIA – On Feb. 10, the National Trust for Historic Preservation announced the acceptance of the Dorothy Riester House and Studio at the Stone Quarry Hill Art Park into their prestigious Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios (HAHS) program.

Read full article from the Cazenovia Republican/Eagle News HERE.

The Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios program (HAHS) under the National Trust for Historic Preservation, is a coalition of 44 museums -now 48!-that were the homes and working studios of American artists. On February 10^th, four new sites were accepted into this prestigious program. All four sites are the preserved homes and studios of significant American women artists.

The Dorothy Riester and the Hilltop House & Studio is honored to be one of these four sites.

Valerie Balint, Senior Program Manager at HAHS, wrote about the Hilltop House and Studio's acceptance to this esteemed program, saying

"We are delighted to welcome Hilltop House and Stone Quarry Hill Art Park into the Historic Artists' Homes and Studios family. The holistic vision that Dorothy and Robert created in Cazenovia wonderfully conveys the idea of artist home and studio as an incubator for ideas, experimentation, and exploration, which is present at so many HAHS sites. Here, visitors can immerse themselves in the environment of an artist who did not feel bound by any one discipline or artistic practice. The art park she created exemplifies the desire of so many artists to create spaces and opportunities, not only for their own work, but for fellow artists. To stand on the hill and to look out at the view, as I have done, is to experience first-hand the potent power of place that is at the core of these preserved places of creativity. Dorothy was a groundbreaker, a woman and artist who lived and created on her own terms, and her integration of her life with her art remains inspiring today. Her preservation and land conservation advocacy are in complete alignment with the ethos of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the parent organization of HAHS. I know that the innovative programming and digital engagement undertaken by the site will provide wonderful models for HAHS colleagues to emulate."

Learn more about the Historic Artists' Home and Studio Program by visiting their website here.

Hilltop House and Studio Open For Exploration in Central New York

Tucked away in central New York, Hilltop House and Studio is taking the inventive step of “look inside” tours while standard docent tours have been put on hold due to COVID-19...

(Click HERE to read full article)

"Hello! My name is Melissa Darroch, and I’m a graduate student at Syracuse University in my 4th year of study for a Ph.D. in Bioarchaeology and a MA in Museum Studies.

For my dissertation research, I’m studying immigration and health policies as related to a late 19th century quarantine cemetery located on an island in Boston harbor. After graduation, I hope to work for museums focusing on history, art, or archaeology.

Even before working with the Hilltop House at Stone Quarry Hill Art Park, I enjoyed visiting the site to get away from the city and enjoy the nature and art. Although COVID-19 changed everything, I was thrilled to be able to still do an internship with SQHAP. With career interests in research, curatorship, collections management, and exhibit design, this internship was exactly what I was looking for. I love learning about the midcentury time period, which had such interesting, artful designs for living. It’s also such a great learning experience for developing exhibits and programming in response to COVID-19. Plus, I get to be creative in developing the coloring pages of the chairs.

I’m looking forward to getting back to working on the Dorothy and Robert Riester Collection and Archive Project. As an archaeologist, I love digging through archives to learn about the people of the past. I wish I could have known Dorothy, as she seems to have been such a cool and interesting person."

Amid cancellations of seasonal hallmarks like summer art camps, Kite Fest, and Pottery Fair, Stone Quarry Hill Art Park (SQHAP) in Cazenovia has shifted focus by creating innovative experiences for visitors–with social distancing measures in mind...(Click HERE to read full article)

Voices of Preservation: The Hilltop House

For this guest blog post, Hilltop House Director, Sarah Tietje-Mietz (one of the League’s 2020 Zabar Scholars) offers a glimpse inside the Hilltop House and the work being done to continue to connect it with visitors. Click HERE for full story...

On November 29th, we honored what would have been Dorothy's 104th birthday, and found it the perfect time to bring you the news that Susie Cody's award-winning documentary on Dorothy and the Art Park, "Art on the Hill," is now available to view on Amazon!

Cody said of making the film that "I grew up in Cazenovia, and have been visiting the Art Park since it opened. It's a special place for me. As a high school senior, I was awarded the Stone Quarry Hill Artist achievement award, which was such an honor. Being able to come back here and make this film after studying film and video production was really a lot of fun. I feel very fortunate that I was able to spend time with Dorothy and bring my dog Bella to see her. She taught me about non-attachment and selflessness, and I think that comes through in the film I created about her."

Head over to the Amazon.com link HERE to view the film now!

Other work by Cody can be seen on her website.

Plant Room Grants Press Release

The Eagle News reported on the grant-funded preservation work the Hilltop House will be undertaking for the Plant Room!

CAZENOVIA — The Dorothy Riester House and Studio (Hilltop House) at Stone Quarry Hill Art Park (SQHAP) recently received multiple grants from local foundations to support the preservation and stabilization of the “plant room,” Hilltop House’s unique indoor atrium...Read the full article HERE.

In early December, the team at Culture Cauldron brought Lauren Juzang’s ethereal music to the Hilltop House. The session features Juzang performing two hauntingly beautiful songs; February, an original composition, and a beautifully pared-down cover of Coldplay’s Magic.

Culture Cauldron also captured interviews with Juzang ...

and with Hilltop House and Studio director Sarah Tietje-Mietz.

The team at the Hilltop House and Studio thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of this visit, and we hope you enjoy the creative content they captured and shared.

"The Preservation League of New York State and their program partners at the New York State Council on the Arts, Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation, and Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area are thrilled to announce the recipients of their 2021 Technical Assistance Grants. During this grant cycle, 17 projects representing 14 counties across the state have been selected by an independent panel of preservation professionals. A total of $62,953 was awarded." (Quoted from Press Release)

The Hilltop House and Studio received funding to support an analysis of approximately 10 finishes employed in the Hilltop House, which includes the finishes employed on the walls (both interior and exterior) beams, window and door framing, and decorative accents, will be undertaken by Jablonski Building Conservation, Inc., and is one piece of a larger effort to address preservation projects in the home and studio.

Read the full press release HERE.