(STOCKBRIDGE, Mass.) – The 2014 season at Chesterwood – the former summer home, studio and gardens of America’s foremost public sculptor Daniel Chester French – includes an exhibition of photography by Julie McCarthy, Chesterwood’s 2013/2014 artist-in-residence; contemporary sculpture by Albert Paley; and a series of outdoor Americana music concerts called Chesterfest. Chesterwood will open for the season on Saturday, May 24, 2014, from 10 am to 5 pm, featuring the reopening of Daniel Chester French’s studio that showcases his plaster models for monumental sculptures.

The studio was closed in late 2012 for extensive repairs crucial to its preservation, most notably the entire removal and reinstallation of the stucco exterior that had not fared well over the past century. The preservation work has ensured that the building and its collections, including a six-foot-tall final plaster model of Abraham Lincoln, will continue to be enjoyed by future generations.

Also opening at Chesterwood on May 24 is the new exhibition An Oasis of Beauty: Photographs by Julie McCarthy, Chesterwood’s 2013/2014 artist-in-residence. An Oasis of Beauty will be on view in the residence through October 13. The exhibition features McCarthy’s photographs and photomontages of the possessions and surroundings of Margaret “Peggy” French Cresson, the only child of Daniel Chester French. French Cresson summered at Chesterwood from the time she was a little girl and in her later years resided year round at Chesterwood. In 1968, she ceded the property and its collections (with the exception of her family home to which she retained life rights) to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Eleven large-scale abstract sculptures by world-renowned New York sculptor Albert Paley will be exhibited on Chesterwood’s grounds from June 14 through October 13 in Contemporary Sculpture at Chesterwood 2014: Selected Works by Albert Paley. A lecture and reception with Paley will be held at Chesterwood on July 19 at 4 p.m. in conjunction with the exhibition.

On Friday evenings at 6:30 p.m. from July 11 through August 29, Chesterwood will present Chesterfest, a new Americana music series held outdoors.

Chesterwood, a site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, is the summer home, studio and gardens of America’s foremost sculptor of public monuments,

Daniel Chester French (1850-1931). French is best known for his sculptures of the Minute Man (1871-75) and the seated figure of Abraham Lincoln (1911-12) for the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. Situated on 122 acres in the idyllic hamlet of Glendale near Stockbridge, Mass., the property and its buildings were donated to the National Trust for Historic Preservation by French’s only child Margaret French Cresson (1889-1973). Chesterwood is recognized as both a National Historic Landmark and a Massachusetts Historic Landmark.

Chesterwood is open for the season from May 24 through October 13. Days of operation vary by month. Chesterwood will be open May 24 through June 30 from Thursday to Monday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; July 1 through August 31, open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; September 1 through September 30, Thursday to Monday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; October 1 through 13, open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Admission is $16.50 for adults ($8.25 for NTHP Members); $8.25 for children ages 13 to 17; free for children under 13 and for Chesterwood Members. Guided tours are available for groups of 10 or more with advance booking only.

Chesterwood is located at 4 Williamsville Road, off Route 183, in Stockbridge. For more information, visit Chesterwood or call 413.298.3579, ext. 25210. Chesterwood, a site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, is the summer home, studio and gardens of America’s foremost sculptor of public monuments, Daniel Chester French (1850-1931). French is best known for his sculptures of the Minute Man (1871-75) and the seated figure of Abraham Lincoln (1911-12) for the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC.