482 AMERICAN 
HOMES AND GARDENS 
December, 1909 
Homes of American Artists 
‘Fleetwood, 
” the Residence of Robert V. V. Sewell, A. N. A., Oyster Bay, Long Island 
By Barr Ferree 
HE personal interest the owner and 
creator of a dwelling may take in his 
house assumes various forms. Sometimes 
it is exhibited in going to the most expen- 
sive architect—that is, the architect who 
makes a specialty of designing the most 
expensive houses; sometimes it is shown 
in liberal orders to the upholsterer; sometimes the land- 
scape gardener and the florist have the first call; sometimes 
it is in the purchase of works of art for the adornment of the 
interior; sometimes it is in the maintenance of costly stables 
and other outdoor luxuries that call for the expenditure ot 
a prodigious sum of money and which require great areas 
for their successful cultivation and enjoyment. 
It is seldom, indeed, that an owner of a house will take 
sufficient pride in it to himself largely contribute to its 
decorative parts through his personal labor. This may, 
it is true, be expected of the architect, who will, when he 
builds, design his own dwelling; in a lesser extent, and in a 
very different way, it may be expected of the painter, who 
may confidently be looked to in the providing of painted 
decorations for the interior, and who will give to the inside 
of his house that personal touch and regard for beauty 
that cannot be ex- 
pected in dwellings 
furnished by  con- 
tract, even if no ap- 
parent limitation in 
cost be set. But that 
a painter should, for 
the greater beauty of 
his house, transform 
himself into a sculp- 
tor, fit it and adorn 
it with carvings and 
sculptures executed 
by his own hand, 1s 
so rare and unusual 
as to be practically, 
i mot sarc tuna lolly, « 
unique. And that is 
precisely what Mr. 
Robert V. V. Sewell 
as =) 
aN 
has done in_ his 
charming place 
“Fleetwood” at Oys- 
ip eh 1G Oia te 
Island. 
The house stands 
serenely back some 
little distance from 
the street, but not so 
far as to present a 
sense of aloofness or 
a desire for privacy; 
on the contrary, it is 
cordially placed a 
little beyond a hedge 
of 7 juniper, hospitably 
broken in the center 
by an arch of the 
Quiet walls above the peaceful garden 
same tree. A pleasant stretch of lawn lies behind the hedge, 
with, to the right and left, great cylinders of arbor-vitae, an- 
cient fragments now being lovingly tended into newer shape 
and growth. 
Then the house, presenting what is apparently an end to 
the street, since the gables face the flanks on either side. Yet 
this is the entrance front, as is disclosed by the porch in 
the center, beneath which is the main doorway. The first 
story is built of Harvard brick; the upper is in half timber, 
the panels showing the soft gray of the cement, and the 
wood of oak, dark stained. ‘The roof is of slate, and is 
of much importance, since slates of various colors were 
chosen, then mixed promiscuously and applied as they came 
to hand. The result is wonderfully soft and beautiful, with 
a blending of delicate colors that is immensely attractive. 
To the right, as the house is approached, is the studio, a 
graceful addition not seen in the photograph which was 
taken before it was begun. It has but one story and pre- 
sents its gable end to the street. 
The architect’s part in the designing of this house was 
precisely that which any architect would take in work of 
this description. The plan, the construction, the outward 
form, even the character of the building is his, and entirely 
his. But Mr. Dun- 
ham Wheeler, who 
was the architect 
here, had the signal 
advantage of the 
ornamental co-opera- 
tion of the owner; 
for the great artistic 
interest of the house 
is in the carvings of 
wood, not only de- 
signed by Mr. Sew- 
ell, but personally ex- 
ecuted by him. 
It is these carvings 
that give the real dis- 
tinction to the house, 
embellish it and deco- 
rate it, “and Jaivesss 
rank among notable 
dwellings in America. 
Mr. Sewell would, 
doubtless, be himself 
the first to disclaim 
any artistic preemi- 
nence for these cary- 
ings, but he would 
not, I fancy, deny 
thei complete 
uniqueness in mod- 
ern building. For it 
is especially to be 
noted that he has not 
simply applied his 
decorative adjuncts to 
his house, hung them 
on, as it were, so they 
would be taken off 
