Carl Schmitt Foundation

06/17/2026

Schmitt had dreamed of settling in Europe since his first trip there in 1914. As he later related to the Catholic activist and writer Peter Maurin, “people still combine cult, that is to say liturgy, with culture, that is to say literature, with cultivation, that is to say agriculture.”

at the Vision of Beauty blog -

Arriving in Paris before dawn on July 26, 1926, Carl Schmitt, as many artists before and since, was exuberant. “Paris is a wonderful city,” he wrote his brother Robert that same day. “The gardens a…

05/29/2026

“A long memory and experience of the place . . . is the base of culture and religion. It is the point where body and soul become one.” —Carl Schmitt, 1936 Carl Schmitt was attracted to Silve…

05/25/2026

100 years ago this month, Carl Schmitt arrived in Europe to search for a place to raise his family and for him to pursue his vocation as an artist. He thought he found what he was looking for in the shadow of the great cathedral at Chartres.

At the Vision of Beauty blog -

1926 brought big changes for Carl Schmitt and his family. The years since his marriage had been taken up in a seemingly endless series of exhibitions in Silvermine, New York, and at the major shows…

05/22/2026

“A long memory and experience of the place . . . is the base of culture and religion. It is the point where body and soul become one.”

More on the importance of place for Carl Schmitt - at the Vision of Beauty blog -

Carl Schmitt had an obvious affection for the village of Silvermine where he lived and worked for most of his adult life. He called the path from his home up nearby Seir Hill “the walk I love best …

05/21/2026

Today on the Carl Schmitt Foundation blog, a reflection on the meaning of home. “I have never been in such a picturesque country in America. Something to paint on every side,” said Schmitt’s friend to tempt him to settle there. The place was Silvermine, which became his family’s home for the rest of his long life.

“A long memory and experience of the place . . . is the base of culture and religion. It is the point where body and soul become one.” —Carl Schmitt, 1936 Carl Schmitt was attracted to Silve…

05/20/2026

Wisdom on Wednesdays—Something permanent
“When I paint I have only one aim: to give substance, essence to things. In that way I may surround myself with something permanent.” (1943)

["Eggs and Copper," oil on hardboard, 12 x 15 in. The Carl Schmitt Foundation.]

05/20/2026

The place of “place” in Schmitt’s thinking goes deeper than his fondness for a particular locality. Just as we speak of a “spirit of the times,” Schmitt spoke of place as having a similar spirit. “A long memory and experience of the place . . . is the base of culture and religion. It is the point where body and soul become one.”

At the Vision of Beauty blog -

“A long memory and experience of the place . . . is the base of culture and religion. It is the point where body and soul become one.” —Carl Schmitt, 1936 Carl Schmitt was attracted to Silve…

08/29/2025

Wisdom on Wednesdays—The media of wisdom
“Knowledge is not an end, any more than perseverance. They are the media of wisdom. In like manner, love and labor are media for the end, counsel–or understanding in the heart.” (April 1932)

[Gertrude Peeling Apples, c. 1925, pastel on dark brown paper, 10⅞ x 8½ in.]

08/07/2025

Wisdom on Wednesdays—A man, not mankind
Wisdom and prophetic intuition
Abide with a man
Not mankind
A man can remember his origins
And a man can live in apprehension of his end
Not mankind
(1934)

[Peter, oil on canvas, c. 1941, 24 x 20 in.]

07/31/2025

Wisdom on Wednesdays—The first step
"The first step in the acquisition of wisdom is the desire for it: and who desires it?" (1955)

[Portrait of the Artist's Grandmother, October 1906]