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Louise Payson portrait

House & Garden Magazine

Collection to be Housed at the University of Maine

(See photos from June 23 news conference)

She is considered a pioneer of American landscape architecture. Her prominence in what is known as the “Golden Age of American gardens” was acknowledged in some of the leading publications of her time. And as a woman practicing a craft and profession in what historically had been a male-dominated field, she helped redefine the character and qualities that established the distinctiveness of American gardens and estates.

Ellen Louise Payson -- known to friends, family, and clients simply as Louise -- was one of a small group of women credited with a legacy of design excellence in the field of American landscape architecture. Though she maintained a relatively low profile in her professional and personal life, her artistry and creativity earned her praise from colleagues and clients alike -- and, in more recent times, from those engaged in the revival of classical American landscape design.

A recent donation of Payson’s professional designs will elevate her profile among students, historians, professionals and hobbyists with the creation of the Ellen Louise Payson Collection at the University of Maine. Among its benefits, the Payson collection will complement other research and educational endeavors conducted through the University’s Landscape Horticulture program, including a collaborative project being undertaken in Bar Harbor, Maine based on designs of the legendary Beatrix J. Farrand.

The Payson collection, currently being catalogued, will be housed in the Special Collections section of the university’s Raymond H. Fogler Library, the state’s largest library.

Born in Portland, Maine in 1894, Louise Payson gained widespread recognition during the 1920s and 1930s as an accomplished landscape architect and as a professional who, by virtue of her gender and the times, challenged and changed the nature of her profession. In 1933, she and five other women were honored as

Charles S. Payson Estate in Manhasset, New York

Special Collections Department,

Raymond H. Fogler Library,

University of Maine, Orono, ME

“Hall of Fame” members by House & Garden magazine. According to the magazine, Payson was selected “for the soundness with which she applies to her gardens the principles of landscaping and architecture . . . and for the sympathetic feeling for varying material which her work always shows.”

The Payson name is well known in Maine for a variety of reasons spanning generations. Since the mid-1800s, Payson family members have played prominent and influential roles in the fields of medicine, finance, religion, commerce and philanthropy in Maine. Louise Payson’s prominence in landscape architecture may have been a digression from the traditional family professions, but she nevertheless developed a national reputation that led to features on her work in publications such as House Beautiful, House & Garden, and Home and Field.

“Louise Payson is considered one of America’s most distinguished landscape architects,” says David B. Melchert, a principal of the Stroudwater Design Group, a landscape architecture and design firm located in Yarmouth, Maine. “She was one of a small number of professionals who defined the aesthetics of garden and estate design in the U.S. during the first half of the 20th century. Her work unquestionably influenced America’s tastes.”

Creation of the Payson Collection

For decades the whereabouts of much of Payson’s original plans, drawings and other works were unknown. It wasn’t until shortly after her death in 1977 that family members discovered a sizable collection of originals stored in a large chest at a family home in Portland.

Through the generosity of her family, much of Louise Payson’s work will soon be available to students, scholars, landscape architects, gardeners, historians and others seeking to understand her influence and significance in American society. On June 23, 1999, Louise Payson’s nephew, Dr. Hugh Payson Robinson of Falmouth, Maine, and his wife Patricia formally announced the donation of over 500 of Payson’s original drawings, blueprints and photographs to the University of Maine.

“The University of Maine is honored to be selected as the new home of the Louise Payson Collection,” says University President Peter S. Hoff, who formally accepted the donation at the June 23 ceremony in the university’s colorful Lyle E. Littlefield Ornamentals Trial Garden. “The Payson name is extremely well known and respected in Maine for the family’s long history of accomplishment and generosity. Thanks to Dr. and Mrs. Robinson, the university has added a remarkable collection of human creativity and achievement to its holdings.”

While available to the general public, the Payson collection will be of particular interest to students and faculty of the university’s highly respected Landscape Horticulture program, which offers both bachelor’s and master’s degrees. That academic program is already actively engaged in the study and recreation of the American-style landscape architecture by another pioneer in the field, the legendary Beatrix J. Farrand (1872-1959), who, like Payson, worked and resided for part of her life in Maine -- Farrand in Bar Harbor, Payson in Portland and Windham.

“My wife and I have strong feelings about preserving the work of my aunt,” explains Hugh Robinson. “Our family has long admired her unique style and her influence on both her profession and on American culture.

“We had several reasons for wanting to donate her collection to the University of Maine -- its reputation for excellence in its Landscape Horticulture program, the outstanding library and library resources available to scholars and citizens alike, and the fact that, as proud residents of Maine, we thought that having her collection at the state’s land-grant university was the right thing to do,” Robinson adds.

“The Payson Collection is a special example of design excellence of one of the country’s leading female professionals in the history of landscape design,” says Melchert, who first reviewed the Payson collection and advised the Robinson family of its cultural, scholarly, and professional significance. “With the development and expansion of use of computer-assisted design, the form of graphic expression featured in the Payson Collection is quickly disappearing.”

Louise Payson plan for the Charles S. Payson Estate

Special Collections Department, Raymond H. Fogler Library, University of Maine, Orono, ME

Instrumental in the Payson donation was The Bar Harbor Institute, a non-profit organization which provides programs and scholarships for students at the University of Maine. Principals of the Institute include its founders, Robert and Catherine Barrett III of Bar Harbor, Maine, and Palm Beach, Fla.

Melchert became familiar with the Robinsons’ collection of Payson’s work several years ago. He recently brought the collection to the attention of the Barretts, who have a strong interest in landscape architecture and in the University of Maine. Previously the Barretts established a scholarship fund for landscape horticulture at the University of Maine in memory of Beatrix J. Farrand, whose former property in Bar Harbor, Maine, abuts the Barretts’ oceanside estate known as Atlantique. Currently the Barrett Fund is supporting what amounts to a living landscape horticulture research lab on the grounds of Atlantique, in conjunction with the university, Melchert, and Melchert’s wife, Patricia Boothby, who is also a landscape architect.

“The University of Maine has carved out a special interest in the works and achievements of women landscape architects,” says Robert Barrett, who serves as president of The Bar Harbor Institute. “Maine has been blessed with daughters such as Beatrix Farrand and Louise Payson, and for over 50 years the university’s faculty in Landscape Horticulture have taught the lessons of the ‘Golden Era’ in its classrooms, greenhouses and gardens. With its increased access to the works of Beatrix and Louise, the university continues to expand understanding and respect for the historical place of these and other women as highly successful leaders, artists, and role models.”