The other day I received a postcard that I bought on Ebay. Its common interest is probably next to none, except for myself. The motif is Gustaf Tenggren's home at Dogfish Head, West Southport Island, Maine and probably from the 1950ies.
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The text reads: The home of Gustav Tenggren -- Dogfish Head, Maine. As seen from the "Argo".
The boat house is not visible on this photo, indicating it might have not been built yet. |
The photo has been taken from the tour boat Argo cruising the Maine archipelago coast
For me, it is interesting to learn that Gustaf Tenggren's fame, if only local, at the time was enough to print this card, which was possibly sold on-board the boat.
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| The excursion boat "Argo" departed from Bootbay Harbour for day trips along the coast. |
The Tenggrens lived in New York City when they found the place by coincidence while sailing along the Maine archipelago coast. It was a former fisherman's homestead, and used to be an important producer of dried codfish. The Tenggrens bought the property in 1943 and moved there in 1944, beginning a major project to transform the buildings into a home and studio.
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The structure includes a number of buildings: a dwelling house with Gustaf's studio, a barn,
storage houses. A boat house down at the water was added later. |
The remodeling continued during the 1940ies and 1950ies. Gustaf hired locals for the the work he didn't managed on his own. After Gustaf's death in 1970, Mollie lived in the house until her own death in 1984.
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| Gustaf and Mollie's home on Dogfish Head seen from top. |
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| Mollie Tenggren by the boat house. |
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Gustaf driving his car, possibly the same one as can be sen parked
in front of the house on the postcard. |
