Artist and Artisan: Fetcher House and the Collection of James G. Hansen

Provenance:

The Ira Simon Collection, Chicago

Arts 220, Winnetka, Illinois, November 10, 1990

Literature:

Maher, Thomas K. The Jarvie Shop: The Candlesticks and Metalwork of Robert R. Jarvie (New York: Turn of the Century Editions, 1997), 119.

Exhibited:

Chicago Metalsmiths, The Chicago Historical Society, 1977

Note:

The Fetcher House in Winnetka, Illinois was designed by local architect Augustus Higginson and built in 1901 for Edwin S. Fechheimer (who later changed his last name to Fetcher). Higginson was a Winnetka resident and member of the Chicago Arts and Crafts Society at Hull House and was therefore the ideal architect to design Fetcher’s home in the desired Arts and Crafts style. In April 1905, The House Beautiful featured the home, praising the architecture and interior design as “simple, sincere, and unpretentious.” [1]

Over the following century, there were several additions and renovations to the home as it passed through three owners before James Hansen purchased it in 1979. Hansen was a passionate and knowledgeable collector, who valued and preserved the history of The Fetcher House. As an artist and industrial designer himself, he had a deep appreciation for the Arts and Crafts movement for its creation of beautiful, functional objects made from natural materials as a reaction against mass production.

Hansen built his collection to fit the style of the home including striking examples of works by important early 20th century makers such as Tiffany Studios, Roycroft, Stickley, and Grueby, as well as Chicago metalsmiths Robert Jarvie and Jessie Preston. Freeman’s | Hindman is honored to present this eclectic and inspired collection in our Early 20th Century Design auction on May 20, 2025 and Artist and Artisan: Fetcher House and the Collection of James G. Hansen auction on June 6, 2025.

[1] Robie, Virginia, “A Bachelor’s Cottage in the Country,” The House Beautiful (April 1905), 30-31.