(c) 2010 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston

John Templeman Coolidge

Boston, 1856 - 1945

BiographyThe Wentworth-Coolidge Commission’s commitment to the arts honors the artistic patrimony of one of the long-time owners of the Mansion, John Templeman Coolidge (1856 – 1945) and his two wives (Katherine Parkman m. 1879, d. 1900, and Abigail Parsons m. 1913 d. 1954). Under the Coolidge family’s 1886-1954 ownership, the Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion became a summertime center for Boston artists, and a summertime community developed around it. In the tradition of the Coolidge family, our annual exhibitions celebrate the works of living artists. Exhibitions at the Mansion are meant to help keep alive the idea of Portsmouth, the Seacoast and New England as centers of visual arts’ innovation and production.

John Templeman Coolidge was a member of one of America’s oldest families, and independently wealthy thanks to the exertions of his forebears. A native of Boston, Templeman graduated from Harvard, Class of 1879, and was the first in his class to marry – to Katherine Parkman, daughter of the American historian Francis Parkman. Following the wedding the Parkmans spent the years 1879-1884/5 in Paris, where Templeman studied art in the atelier of J. Carolus Duran. Returning to Boston, the Coolidges purchased the Wentworth Coolidge Mansion and fifteen acres for the very reasonable price of $5,000, as a summer retreat from the city. Accessible by boat and by rail from Boston, both Portsmouth and the Wentworth Coolidge Mansion had seen better economic times, and Mr. and Mrs. Coolidge set about working on their property, and to encouraging Boston friends and acquaintances to join them. A summer community began to form[1] thanks to their efforts. Friends built or bought summer homes nearby, and artist friends from Boston were encouraged to come for a visit.

John Templeman Coolidge was a long-time trustee of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and a highly trained, competent and capable artist. A number of his oil on canvas paintings, and those of other Coolidge family members, are on display here. One of Templeman’s historical dioramas, formerly on display at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, has been released to the Wentworth Coolidge Mansion by the Museum; it may be seen in its standing case on the first floor of the Mansion. In addition Mr. and Mrs. Coolidge underwrote much of the production of the Dedham (MA) Art Pottery, as well as anonymously supporting the artistic productions of numerous other artists. The Wentworth-Coolidge Commission Inc. is honored to mount its annual exhibitions in memory of the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. John Templeman Coolidge and the Coolidge family to help ensure the ongoing vitality of the visual arts.

History written by Wentworth-Coolidge Commissioner Russell Bastedo
http://wentworthcoolidge.org/history/the-coolidge-family-the-arts/

JOHN TEMPLEMAN COOLIDGE son of Mary Louisa Coolidge lV 51 and Joseph Swett Coolidge b 1 Jan 1856 Boston as John Templeman son of Joseph S and Mary L Coolidge m 1st Katherine Scollay Parkman 16 Sept 1879 Boston at Brookline by Rev Henry W Foote dau of Francis and Katherine Scollay Bigelow Parkman b 22 Aug 1858 West Roxbury by Boston as Catharine S dau of Francis and Catharine S Parkman d 12 Feb 1900 Boston as Katharine S Parkman Coolidge aged 41 y 5 m 21 d bur Forest Hills Cemetery John Templeman Coolidge m 2nd Mary Abigail Parsons 3 Sept 1913 Kennebunk Maine dau of George and Sarah Elizabeth Eddy Parsons b 31 May 1878 Kennebunk Children of John Templeman Coolidge lV 91 and Katherine Scollay Parkman lV 112 i Mart b 23 May 1881 Paris France lV 113 n Katherine Parkman b 5 Jan 1883 Paris France in Louisa Riche b 19 Aug 1886 Portsmouth New Hampshire W John Templeman b 28 Dec 1888 Boston v Elizabeth b 22 June 1895 Boston Family records of John Templeman Coolidge lV 91 and his descendants were contributed by himself.
The History of Peter Parker and Sarah Ruggles of Roxbury, Mass. and Their Ancestors and Descendants, with the Best Wishes of the Author
John William Linzee
Priv. Print. [S. Usher], 1918 - Massachusetts - 609 pages
https://books.google.com/books?id=dUZBAAAAMAAJ&lpg=PA121&ots=Du5CUH_z4D&dq=john%20templeman%20coolidge&pg=PA121#v=onepage&q=john%20templeman%20coolidge&f=false

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Last Updated8/7/24

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