The original Studio of the Lost and
Beautiful Past seen in the three smaller
photographs at the left, was located in
historic Loudoun House, headquarters
of the Lexington Art League in
Lexington,Kentucky. Loudoun was
constructed in 1852 for Francis Key
Hunt. The architect was A.J.Davis, the
same architect who did the house
Lyndhurst which was featured in the two
Dark Shadows motion pictures. The
earliest studio was in the tower. My
second studio was in one of the large
2nd floor bedchambers. You can see it
in the daylight view of the back of the
house, the room with the triple moulded

In so many ways for eight years, my
studio at Loudoun was far more my
home than my actual residence.
Inevitably, there comes in the life cycle
of an organisation a point where it
loses sight of its original purpose and it
becomes time to move on as did many
of my friends there.

While I sometimes still miss my studio
in that haunted old Gothic villa, it can be
seen in the three larger pictures at the
right that my new studio is also
thoroughly steeped in the glories of the
past. I now own my studio in a circa
Queen Anne Cottage with the good
light and the high ceilings I once
enjoyed at Loudoun.
Loudoun in the fog-photo by Polly Singer