The Garden Club of the Back Bay kicks off the 2022/2023 year with a field trip to Beauport, the Sleeper-McCann House, operated by Historic New England. There will be a docent-led tour of the 25-room house and gardens in Gloucester, followed by an optional box lunch meal at a local yacht club just down the street from Beauport. Members will receive notification and sign up details.
Beauport, the Sleeper-McCann House, a National Historic Landmark, was the summer home of one of American’s first professional interior designers, Henry Davis Sleeper. Perched on a rock ledge overlooking Gloucester Harbor, Beauport was Sleeper’s retreat, backdrop for entertaining, and professional showcase, and an inspiration to all who visited.
After Sleeper’s death, Beauport was purchased by the McCanns, who left it largely intact. Visit Beauport and see Sleeper’s lifetime collection of curiosities, colored glass, folk art, china, and silhouettes in every nook and alcove. Each of the forty rooms is distinguished by a historical or literary figure, theme, color, shape, or object. No two rooms are the same, and each is more visually dazzling than the last. Get to know Sleeper, a gay man living in the early twentieth century; his housekeeper, Mary Wonson; his fascinating neighbors; and the house’s many colorful guests.
