From collection Eliot Elisofon Collection
Warner Home Coombs Neck 1948 Vinalhaven
Two children walk across a field by Betsy Warner's home, a 19th century farmhouse at Coombs Neck in Vinalhaven Island, Maine in 1948.
Elizabeth "Betsy" Parsons Warner (1910-2003) wrote prize-winning stories for the New Yorker and owned a historic farmhouse built in 1836 overlooking East Penobscot Bay on Vinalhaven Island. She raised two children there, Mark and Lucy, who would both become writers like their mother.
When Photographer Eliot Elisofon was not traveling the world taking photos for LIFE Magazine, he came to Vinalhaven, Maine to rest and recoup. Eliot bought a farmhouse near Crockett Cove on Vinalhaven in 1941, built by Joel and Mary Jane Philbrook in 1843.
Daughter Elin writes, “My father always said his favorite place on earth was Vinalhaven and he meant it. Wherever he was, he was counting the days until he could return to the island. Here he would 'recharge his batteries' from grueling trips to Africa, Asia, the Pacific, or from battles with the publishers and editors he had to constantly prod into sharing his passion and understanding his vision. In Vinalhaven he could relax, soak up the beauty of the place, plant trees, flowers, and vegetables, paint in his studio, cook, and develop the lifelong friendships he treasured."
Elisofon, Elin. FEAST. (Vinalhaven, Maine: April, 1992)
These images are personal photographs taken by Eliot Elisofon on Vinalhaven and were not published during his lifetime.
