Romanticism at Innisfree Garden | with Katherine H. Kerin

Those who know his work think of landscape architect Lester Collins as a modernist, even a minimalist. Those who know Innisfree think of its connections to the gardens of ancient China and Japan. Innisfree and Collins’ larger body of work nevertheless draw deeply on the ideas and ideals of the Romantic Era, celebrating nature and the deep, emotional connection between humans and the natural world. Using Innisfree as the nexus, landscape curator Kate Kerin will introduce these ideas as a continuum rooted in 18th-century Europe, flowering in the 19th century Hudson Valley with the likes of Andrew Jackson Downing and Frederick Law Olmsted, and very much alive today with growing interest in nature conservation, nature’s role in human health, and nature-based gardening strategies.

Kate Kerin has spent her career studying, preserving, teaching about, and designing landscapes. She has a particular interest in garden history. Kate has been working with Innisfree since 2012.