Publisher's Synopsis
Madeline Yale Wynne (1847-1918) was an American artist, teacher, writer and philanthropist. She was born in Newport, New York and in 1865, aged 18, married Henry Winn with whom she had two sons. The marriage ended in 1874, following which she changed the spelling of her last name to Wynne. She studied painting at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston from 1877-78 and at the Art Students League of New York in 1880, and later in Europe. In Florence in the 1880s she met fellow craftsman Annie Cabot Putnam and the two became lifelong partners, initially sharing a studio in Boston, and later restoring a Georgian mansion in Deerfield, Massachusetts together, aided by one of her sons. Her writing career began with the supernatural story The Little Room which was well received when it was published in the August 1895 issue of Harper's Magazine, and it was included in this collection of her stories, accompanied by her own decorations, along with its sequel, later that same year. She continued to write for Atlantic Monthly, Harper's Monthly, Home Beautiful and various other periodicals. In 1901 Madeline helped found the Deerfield Society of Arts and Crafts, serving as curator as the movement produced a broad array of artistry including jewellery, photography, weaving, rugs and furniture. She and Annie were highly influential in developing arts and crafts in the community, organizing tours of the village's craftwork and arranging speaking engagements, and they were both expert metalsmiths in their own right.
