Statuary in the Courtyard

Lenox, Massachusetts

The courtyard is that of the mansion at The Mount, the estate of the writer Edith Wharton. She played a major role in the design and decoration of the house and the extensive gardens. She lived there for ten years at the turn of the 20th century but had to sell when her high-society but unhappy marriage ended. She spent the rest of her life, some 25 years, in Europe. The house design is highly symmetrical, and these two stand in alcoves set into the north and south walls of the space where carriages, horseless or not, would arrive with guests.

Lenox, Massachusetts

Here's the house looking southwest from the gardens.

Lenox, Massachusetts

The Mount went through a checkered time from 1912 till recently but has undergone extensive renovation through the efforts of a non-profit foundation that now owns it.