Art of the Architecture
Artists and Photogrphers Capture the Essence of Cobweb Cottage
Artists are drawn to the scene of the big pink house at the head of the lake. Here are some samplings of art and images inspired by the cottage, or done by some of its residents.
At right is a painting by longtime homeowner Elsa Watts Smith. Below is a silk screen of a cellar door from the house, entitled "Portal" by Scott Feldmann, 1976 (researcher and writer for this site,) and at the bottom of the page is an oil painting by Shirley Feldmann, (his mother,) two works by DeCost Smith, and one by his father E. R. Smith and a couple by his brother Sedgwick. Many artists have lived in the house throughout the years. Judy Kaspar, who grew up in Cobweb Cottage, taught Scott to finger paint, as his nursery school teacher in 1964. He went on to become a Disney artist in 1982, and is now an independent creative director and partner in the Deep Magic Song & Drawing Co. in Pasadena, California.
Note: Some of the art and photography shown here is hard to attribute. If you are the artist who gave the owners one of these images . . . please write us an email or send snail mail so we can give you proper credit.
Above: East lake view, painting by Elsa Smith, 1955.
Above: View of Skaneateles Lake by Shirley Feldmann, circa 1966. One of Shirley's painting teachers was Elsa Watts Smith.
Left: Etching by DeCost Smith, intended for inclusion in his father E. R.'s book "Ramblings About Town," rejected and not published in the book.
Above: House Wren Sunning by DeCost Smith in his retirement home in Amenia New York. Both pieces are in the Amenia Free Library, Amenia New York.
Below: Watercolor from a sketch book of E. Reuel Smith, location somewhere around Skaneateles. (Private collection, used with permission).
Right: St. James Church by Elsa Smith.
Far Right: Firehouse by Sedgwick Smith.
Below: Village view by Sedgwick Smith, 1960.
