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Water in the Garden

Posted On October 04, 2012 | 09:37 am | by lisaw | Permalink
A New Exhibit in the Catalogue House

The Catalogue House, an octagonal stone building in the Dumbarton Oaks Gardens, is dedicated to Charlotte and Vernon Kellogg, friends of Mr. and Mrs. Bliss. Vernon Kellogg was a professor of entomology at Stanford University and an important figure in the popularization of science and the early organization of the National Research Council. Herbert Hoover was his student at Stanford, and later appointed him director of the Commission for Relief in Belgium. The Catalogue House features a line of Charlotte Kellogg’s poetry, which rings the top of the interior wall. The structure was originally intended to serve an educational purpose by illustrating the various animals and plants encountered in the Garden.

The new exhibit in the Catalogue House focuses on “Water in the Garden.” The uses of water in the Dumbarton Oaks Garden are both functional and decorative. Beatrix Farrand’s work at Dumbarton Oaks incorporated existing “water elements,” such as the Lovers’ Lane Pool (above), into the design of the overall garden. Farrand also created a variety of fountains for specific locations, such as the Fountain and Arbor Terraces and the swimming pool. This exhibit covers four areas of the garden and provides a visual record of the evolution of their design.