Haystack visionary Merritt dies at 87

DEER ISLE – One of Stuart Kestenbaum’s favorite Fran Merritt stories involved a school official who stopped by Haystack Mountain School of Crafts after it had moved to its current campus in Deer Isle.

“What’s all this?” the official asked when he saw what appeared to be unfinished buildings.

“The construction is temporary, but the concept is permanent,” Merritt told the man.

Francis Merritt, the founding director of Haystack, died Wednesday in Belfast after an illness.

“He was such a well-loved figure” and a person whose creative force is still felt at the school, explained Kestenbaum, executive director of Haystack since 1988. Begun as a research and studio

program in Montville, the school offers a variety of workshops, performances and study opportunities in crafts and the arts.

Kestenbaum called Merritt, who was a neighbor for several years before moving to Belfast, “a remarkable innovator in the craft field, with a big vision of what the arts could be.”

Merritt used that vision in 26 years as director of the school begun by Mary Beasom Bishop, making it “a place of transformation for people,” Kestenbaum said. Among his innovations were bringing in internationally known artists to teach at Haystack.

Merritt was born in Massachusetts in 1913, studied art at several colleges and taught in high schools and colleges while also working as a printmaker.

He joined Haystack as its first director in 1951. Though he retired in 1977 to concentrate on his own art, Merritt continued to be actively involved in the school, and often taught workshops.

“He had a great sense of discovery,” Kestenbaum said. “It was how he would teach people – they’d make discoveries along with him.

“He really created a vision for the school that sustains it now. It’s ‘the Merritt way’ that we try to carry on,” Kestenbaum said.

Merritt influenced artists such as glass sculptor Dale Chihuly and landscape artist Eric Hopkins, Kestenbaum said.

“He would just be there at certain points in their careers,” he said. “He had that sense of connection” with those who came to Haystack.

“His life touched many people,” Hopkins said. “Fran made everyone feel they could do whatever it was they wanted to do. He was very generous with his spirit.”

As executive director, Kestenbaum has worked to continue the Haystack tradition of finding new ways to encourage and communicate creativity.

“But every time I would think of some ‘new’ program,” he said, “Fran had been there first. With him, it was more than an instructional program. It was a way of looking at the world.”

Merritt received many awards and honors, and in September he and his wife, Priscilla, were presented the American Craft Museum’s Visionaries Award.

The artist is survived by his wife, his brother who lives in Japan, two sons and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

A celebration of Merritt’s life will be held next summer at Haystack. Memorial contributions may be sent to Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, P.O. Box 518, Deer Isle 04627.