A Scandalous Tale of a “Womanizing Surrealist” Revealed the True History of this Farmhouse
Since arriving to New York City in the early 1980s, interior designer Glenn Gissler had his sights set on buying a little place in the country he could escape to on weekends— “somewhere to go barefoot in the grass,” says Gissler who, in 1987, founded his eponymous Manhattan firm after working with internationally acclaimed architect Rafael Viñoly.
After a 30-year search, Gissler found the perfect place in 2014: an 1840 Greek Revival farmhouse in Roxbury, Connecticut, set over eight acres of idyllic countryside. As the years went by, he slowly began unraveling the home’s history. He also began spiraling down a fantastical rabbit hole—one that could have easily been illustrated by Salvador Dalí.
It began when a carpenter working on the property told Gissler about a “womanizing surrealist” named David Hare who lived in the home “I’m a student of art history and I had never heard of him, but I just began to scratch the surface when I came up with an image of André Breton and Jacqueline Lamda, with their daughter, and Dolores Vanetti at my front door.”
The photograph picturing Breton (the French writer and surrealism’s principal theorist), Lamda (Breton’s wife and a surrealist painter), and Vanetti (Jean-Paul Sartre’s lover) was just the tip of the iceberg. As Gissler discovered, the 2,600-square-foot farmhouse was a haven for surrealists exiled from Europe during a period of time between 1930 and 1950 when Hare owned the property.
“It became this outrageous epicenter for that creative community,” he explains while listing other luminaries who visited, stayed over, or lived in the house that included Sartre, Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst and Dorothea Tanning, Yves Tanguy, Arshile Gorky, Peggy Guggenheim, Jackson Pollock, and Alexander Calder (who lived just around the corner).
“The people who come here and know a lot about art history, their eyes bug out of their heads wondering how it was possible nobody knew about this before.”
Further research would reveal Hare’s family wasn’t as well known as the DuPonts or Astors, but was equally well-to-do and culturally minded. “It turned out that Hare’s mother was a funder to the Armory Exhibition of 1913; his uncle, Philip L. Goodwin, codesigned the [new] Museum of Modern Art with Edward Durell Stone that opened 1939; and his cousin, artist Kay Sage, was married to Yves Tanguy.”
Its connection to the art and cultural movement aside, Gissler’s four-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom retreat from city life was a dream come true. “I’m from Wisconsin, so getting a house from 1840 was a big thrill, and it hadn’t been screwed up over time,” he says, noting that the part of Litchfield County where the home sits hadn’t really prospered beyond the 18th-century. “The good news, for me, was that the town wasn’t developed, and people didn’t spend money to overbuild, renovate, or add on [to their homes].”
Given his longtime involvement with historic preservation, the designer tackled a number of glaring cosmetic issues that included correcting “a lot of wrong paint colors” and refinishing the “icky orange” floors, as well as giving the facade a fresh coat of white paint and a minimalist-inspired update. “Originally there were shutters on the windows which were falling apart, so I removed them; I like the ecclesiastical purity of the Greek temple front without shutters—there’s a sort of Shaker austerity about it.”
On the inside, Gissler has filled the home with things he’s acquired since starting his business 37 years ago, like furnishings by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, a collection of ceramics and metalwork by 19th-century British designer Christopher Dresser, and multiple sets of Russel Wright dinnerware, which are a favorite obsession (“I have piles of them in three different colors so I can host dinners for up to 30!”).
Of course, he’s also paid homage to Hare and the long list of artists who found refuge there by installing surrealist and abstract works by some of the period’s most influential figures.
As for that art historical rabbit hole, he has yet to emerge: “At this point I probably have four or five feet of printed matter on the history of the home. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.”
Exterior
Built in 1840, the Greek Revival farmhouse would become a haven for some of the 20th century’s most celebrated artists. Designer Glenn Gissler removed the shutters from the home’s windows to achieve an “ecclesiastical purity [for] the Greek temple front” that offers a more contemporary appearance.
Front Porch
“Those boxwoods in front, I moved them from the back of the house—they’re six feet in diameter and about 36 inches tall and really ground the house,” says Gissler.
Entry
The “falling blocks” rug was custom designed by Gissler which, he explains, is a classic pattern often seen in marble. “I had it made as a cotton hooked rug, which feels very homespun.”
Flanking the entrance to the library is a pair of English hall chairs from about 1830. “They’re simple primary neoclassical forms that are almost trying to be modern,” says the designer. “I really like things that are premodern.”
To the right of the doorway is a print by Corbusier and to the left is one by Alexander Calder. “I felt I needed a Calder since he was good friends with David Hare and his house is just around the corner.”
Library
“Originally I used this as a dining room, then an office,” Gissler says about the time spent learning how he wanted to live in the space. “Then one day, it more or less became this—it’s a wonderful room that’s filled with a lot of afternoon light.”
The assemblage of furnishings in the space includes a cocktail table designed by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb, a pair of klismos chairs also attributed to the designer, a 1940s rolled-arm sofa covered by an antique hand-embroidered suzani, and a pair of green velvet stools acquired through a Stair Galleries auction. The metal shelves house books relating to Colonial architecture and neoclassicism and a portion of his collection of Christopher Dresser ceramics and metalwork.
To the left of the fireplace is an abstract print by Susan Rothenberg from the 1970s. The designer also covered the ceiling in a bumble bee motif wallpaper from Farrow & Ball. “What I like about it is the shimmer, and there’s something surreal about having insects on the ceiling,” Gissler says.
Library
Above the Biedermeier bar cabinet hangs an abstract work by Thomas Eldred from 1941, and on the wall to its left is a 1952 drawing by Wilfrid Zogbaum. The klismos chair is attributed to T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, and the area rug is by Martin Patrick Evans.
Dining Room
In order to maintain intimacy in the space, Gissler worked with a classical architect to add the ceiling beams instead of raising the ceiling to expose existing ones. “I like to bring people up for the weekends, and this is the setting for Saturday night dinners,” he says.
The 10-foot antique dining table is surrounded by a set of Anglo-Colonial X-back chairs that he bought from Robert Leighton about 30 years ago to use in his first “really nice office” in New York. Overhead is a chandelier Gissler designed for a client’s apartment in the city that eventually made its way back to him when they moved out. In the background is a painting on paper by Melinda Stickney-Gibson.
Dining Room
The open concept makes mingling with guests easy for the avid entertainer. To the left of the dining table is an antique bark cloth painting from Samoa. “It’s almost hypnotic, and the fact that it comes from the South Seas is fantastic,” Gissler says.
Living Room
Two cocktail tables by T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb are positioned in front of a Vanguard sofa. Centered in the room is an unusual 19th-century Thebes chair made out of bamboo (“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Gissler says). Above the fireplace is a print by Tom Friedman purchased from fabled New York art dealer Hudson. Next to it is a unique work by Donald Baechler. “It’s the very first piece I bought when I moved to New York,” says Gissler who recalls paying $100 a month for seven months. “The thing that’s very interesting is that it’s a pentimento. It’s a self-portrait [in gouache], but underneath there’s a portrait of his father showing through.”
Living Room
“You need different places to sit—this spot could be used to work, or for a dinner for two,” Gissler says. The English Arts and Crafts table is circa 1900, the French bergères and the table lamp are from the 1940s, and the drawing by David Dupuis was purchased by the Gissler in the 1980s. In the window hangs an anonymous tantric painting from India.
Stair Hall
Gissler custom designed the hook rug on the landing. Above the staircase are two African masks from his collection.
Primary Bedroom
“Peggy Guggenheim had a gallery in New York called Art of This Century, and it had two rooms: one for abstraction and another for surrealism, which had curved walls,” Gissler explains. “So the art was hung on projectiles, which made the works appear to float in space.”
Taking his cue from Guggenheim’s groundbreaking gallery, Gissler has installed an ever-expanding group of surrealist works hung at eye level—when you’re lying in bed—in what he refers to as a “big tent.”
Primary Bedroom
Included are artworks by Leon Golub, Alfonso Osorio, Jacqueline Lamba, Hans Bellmer, Richard Tuttle, and the home’s former owner David Hare. The beside tables are T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings for Widdicomb, paired with 1950s open helix lamps by James Mont, and at the foot of the bed is a klismos bench attributed to Robsjohn-Gibbings. The vintage golden yellow toile wallpaper was installed by one of the home’s earlier owners.
Guest Bedroom
“I love to have houseguests. My theory is I’ll invite pretty much anybody to come, and if they’re fun they’ll come back many times,” Gissler says. Laid across the foot of the iron four-poster bed is an antique Japanese blanket. Above the 17th-century English bureau is a collage by Nancy Spero, and on the opposite side of the window hangs an abstract work by Roberto Matta. “There’s no closet in the room, and generally guests never fully unpack, so I added Shaker pegs around the perimeter so people could hang things up casually.”
Kitchen
Gissler loves to cook—whether for himself or a packed dinner table—and aside from painting the cabinets and switching out the overhead lighting, an earlier remodel provided a flow he could work with. “There was bad recessed lighting, so I replaced it with surface mounted fixtures I call ‘ye olde town lights’; it’s not a huge space but it really works.” Pieces from a set of his Russel Wright ceramic dinnerware collection are laid out on the countertops. On the far countertop, next to the Russel Wright pitcher, is a graphic work by Claire Falkenstein who was commissioned by Peggy Guggenheim in 1960 to design and produce the famous New Gates of Paradise for her home in Venice, the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni.
Breakfast Room
This relatively simple space is a favorite of the homeowner and opens out onto a sizable side garden. The industrial-style chandelier is Yugoslavian from the 1970s, and on the far wall is a graphic work from 1973 by Alfred Jensen.
Breakfast Room
Around the table the designer opted for “the cheapest, smartest, most comfortable chairs” he knows. “I think director chairs give a sort of unpretentious, retro vibe.”
Pool
The backyard features a tranquil pool.
Pool & Garden
In addition to the pool, the property also has several smaller structures including one that was once David Hare’s studio, which now houses “hundreds” of antiques, furnishings, and other decorative items that Gissler has amassed over the years (“I really need to have a barn sale”). The designer also learned that, sometime in the 1950s or ’60s, the famed wildlife illustrator Bob Kuhn had also used the studio when he was working for publications like Outdoor Life, Field & Steam, and Sports Afield.
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