Sky Farm Hermitage, founded by Fr. Dunstan Morrissey, offers cottages for private retreats in Sonoma, California. The Web site offers photos of the grounds and facilities, information for reservations and directions, plus biographies of the resident hermits. URL: http://www.skyfarm.org.
Hermits in Art: Chiang Chao-shen
A modern Taiwanese artist depicts a classic Chinese hermit theme: the hermit angler (in “Hermit Angler on Clear Waters”), where the solitude of the little craft and its occupant in vast waters represents self and universe. URL: http://www.npm.gov.tw/eng91/exh/e_jiang9104/e_01.htm.
Hawaii hermit, Fr. Louis
We communicated with Fr. Louis, a retired Orthodox bishop living in Hawaii as a hermit, some time ago, so it is interesting to see how his one-page Yahoo! site (originally titled “Phoney Hermits” and still a page there) grew to include many pages of thoughts, rants, and life details. Some all-caps text and lots of religious controversy await visitors. URL: http://www.geocities.com/hermit3712/.
Painshill ornamental hermit
Here is a news item about an artist who will spend a couple of weeks as an ornamental hermit at the Painshill Park estate in Surrey, England. It is part of a collaborative project for a garden history association. The intended hermit will mimic a hired counterpart from the 18th century. URL: http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/nwh_gfx_en/ART21222.html.
Hermits in Art: Sargent
The paintings of John Singer Sargent exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (NY) in summer 2000 and later sites included “The Hermit,” painted by Sargent in Italy in 1908 and with the added title “Il Solitario.” An image of the painting can be viewed at the John Singer Sargent Virtual Gallery http://www.jssgallery.org/Thumbnails/Sargent_Paintings1908.htm.