OUR HISTORY

The Chaffee Arts Center is a non-profit organization committed to providing Vermonters and visitors alike with high quality visual arts experiences. To this effect, the Chaffee curates as many as fifteen dynamic exhibitions each year, provides a full line of art classes for people of all ages and abilities, maintains a beautiful 1896 Queen Anne Victorian, and sponsors Vermont's oldest continuing arts and crafts tradition, Art in the Park, twice a year.

Chaffee Art Center Main Street looking South, 1896 the Chaffee's turret is on the left side of the image

The Chaffee has been in existence for over 40 years, and in that time has grown from a respected community arts center into an organization of statewide significance. In particular, we have become known for the remarkable dynamic that exists between contemporary Vermont fine art and the architectual splendor of our building. Our sales galleries are filled with the work of neartly 250 juried Vermont artists, and virtually every medium is represented - from painting, sculpture and photography, to ceramics, printmaking, and fine furniture. Additionally, the Chaffee is committed to exhibiting the work of young artists, sponsoring the annual Student Art Exhibit, featuring the work of over 300 students from 35 area schools.

The Chaffee Center is located in a magnificent 1896 Queen Anne Victorian listed on both the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The three-story mansion was built by George Thrall Chaffee, a prominent Rutland area businessman, who named his home "Sunny Gables." Sunny Gables is comprised of a variety of European and Middle Eastern architectural styles, popular at the time amongst wealthy Americans who were fortunate enough to travel extensively. Sunny Gables' distinctive features include the Syrian arch front entrance, a first floor of machine cut marble blocks, the three story corner tower with its conical roof, a smaller conical tower with gothic windows, and an elegant porte cochere. The building's interior is no less spectacular, boasting elaborate parquet floors, elegant molding and trim cut from bird's eye maple and tiger oak, and an asymmetrical floor plan typical of the Queen Anne style of architecture. It is worth noting that the Chaffee home was one of the first in Rutland to enjoy central heating, gas lighting, and indoor plumbing!

The Chaffee family exerted considerable influence on the city of Rutland and George Thrall was closely identified with almost every phase of its business, financial, political, religious and fraternal life. In particular, George's business interests includes ownership of a lumber company, a foundry and machine shop, a department store, and the Playhouse Theatre. Dinner parties here included such guests as Harpo Marx and Harry Houdini. Additionally, Mr. Chaffee held investments in banking and the area's booming train and transportation industry.

The Chaffee family lived in Sunny Gables until the 1930's, at which time they closed the building. In 1961 the family loaned the building to the Rutland Area Art Association for the purpose of seasonally exhibiting the work of Vermont artists. Over two decades later, in 1982, the building was purchased by the Rutland Art Association who shortly afterwards changed their name to the Chaffee Art Center. In 1986 the Board of Directors voted to make the Chaffee a year round visual arts center, which it remains to this day.