Architectural History
Built in 1964, as the personal studio for American artist Kenneth Shopen, the guest house was designed by architects E. H. and M.K Hunter. Its high ceilings, flat roof and expansive windows, bring natural beauty and light inside.
Kenneth Shopen (1902 - 1967) was the original owner. He was an American artist and art professor who spent much of his life working and teaching in the Chicago area. He taught at Chicago’s Latin School for Boys Art, the Institute of Chicago, and University of Illinois and also served as art critic for the Chicago Daily News.
He exhibited his watercolors at a variety of venues including the Brooklyn Museum, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and the Carnegie Institute’s international exhibitions.
During his later years Mr. Shopen spent his summers teaching at Dartmouth and Vassar Colleges.
It was during that period that he and his wife, Sylvia selected a five acre site on the edge of a hill and built their Vermont home.
They decided on a minimalist design. A single bedroom connected to an open expanse of living area with windows to bring the outside's natural beauty right into their living space. They intended to build a living, breathing, piece of art. An art studio was an essential component of their design.
They built a separate studio structure to complement their home. This allowed Kenneth’s work to be fully apart from their home life and provide space for overnight guests.
Their friends, and fellow Dartmouth professors, E. H. Hunter (Dartmouth Class of ’38) and his wife, M. K. Hunter, designed both the home and studio.
Mr. Hunter had received training at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design under Walter Gropius. Mrs. Hunter was one of the first female architects to graduate from the school.They were nationally recognized for their modernist architecture.
He exhibited his watercolors at a variety of venues including the Brooklyn Museum, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and the Carnegie Institute’s international exhibitions.
During his later years Mr. Shopen spent his summers teaching at Dartmouth and Vassar Colleges.
It was during that period that he and his wife, Sylvia selected a five acre site on the edge of a hill and built their Vermont home.
They decided on a minimalist design. A single bedroom connected to an open expanse of living area with windows to bring the outside's natural beauty right into their living space. They intended to build a living, breathing, piece of art. An art studio was an essential component of their design.
They built a separate studio structure to complement their home. This allowed Kenneth’s work to be fully apart from their home life and provide space for overnight guests.
Their friends, and fellow Dartmouth professors, E. H. Hunter (Dartmouth Class of ’38) and his wife, M. K. Hunter, designed both the home and studio.
Mr. Hunter had received training at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design under Walter Gropius. Mrs. Hunter was one of the first female architects to graduate from the school.They were nationally recognized for their modernist architecture.
The Shopen's main house was designed to give greatest consideration to the unobstructed view of the Connecticut River Valley and New Hampshire hills.
A single-story structure, Its relatively flat roof is pitched diagonally to give the eastern corner of the house the highest inside walls. The result is a panoramic view of the outside thru extensive windows in the two intersecting walls. The full beauty of the sky can be experienced without stepping outside.
The Studio was designed to maximize the benefit of indirect lighting while still delivering privacy. It has ten foot ceilings and window walls starting 4 feet above the floor and continuing to the ceiling on the the East and West sides. There are no windows on the side that faces the main house. As a result, although relatively close by, the two structures offer complete mutual privacy.
The Studio was given a different view. It looks out into a mountain-like, tranquil scene. On the driveway (west) side, the Studio sits high above a tree-covered granite hillside that falls off to the driveway. To the east, it looks out from the dining area across a small natural garden to granite boulders and the continuing wooded hillside.
During the day, there is little need for artificial lighting, as the window walls and high ceilings bring outside light to all corners of the Studio. The natural feeling is heightened by the fir walls and ceilings and short length Vermont maple floors.
A single-story structure, Its relatively flat roof is pitched diagonally to give the eastern corner of the house the highest inside walls. The result is a panoramic view of the outside thru extensive windows in the two intersecting walls. The full beauty of the sky can be experienced without stepping outside.
The Studio was designed to maximize the benefit of indirect lighting while still delivering privacy. It has ten foot ceilings and window walls starting 4 feet above the floor and continuing to the ceiling on the the East and West sides. There are no windows on the side that faces the main house. As a result, although relatively close by, the two structures offer complete mutual privacy.
The Studio was given a different view. It looks out into a mountain-like, tranquil scene. On the driveway (west) side, the Studio sits high above a tree-covered granite hillside that falls off to the driveway. To the east, it looks out from the dining area across a small natural garden to granite boulders and the continuing wooded hillside.
During the day, there is little need for artificial lighting, as the window walls and high ceilings bring outside light to all corners of the Studio. The natural feeling is heightened by the fir walls and ceilings and short length Vermont maple floors.
In 2009 the artist's studio was renovated for its current guest-house use.
