Millay Arts
Millay Arts is a nonprofit artists' colony in Austerlitz, New York, providing residencies, retreats, workshops, and community arts programming on the former home of poet Edna St. Vincent Millay.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Millay Arts, formerly known as the Millay Colony for the Arts, is a nonprofit arts community and residency center in Austerlitz, New York. It operates from Steepletop, the former country property of poet and playwright Edna St. Vincent Millay, and combines artist residencies with retreats, classes, publications, and public-facing educational activity. Its principal role is to provide artists with time, space, and facilities for concentrated creative work across disciplines including literature, music, theater, screenwriting, and visual art. The site became associated with the Millay family in 1925, when Edna St. Vincent Millay purchased Steepletop, a property that included a house and blueberry farm. The name Steepletop refers to a pink, conical wildflower found in the surrounding area. During Millay's ownership, the property developed into a working and creative retreat. She and her husband built a barn from a Sears Roebuck kit, along with a writing cabin and a tennis court. These structures later became part of the physical and historical foundation of the arts organization. After Millay's death in 1950, her sister Norma Millay Ellis moved to Steepletop. In 1973, Ellis established the Millay Colony as a nonprofit organization and donated the barn and surrounding acreage to it. The barn was renovated to create accommodation and studio facilities for four resident artists, establishing the basic residency model that remains central to the organization. Millay Arts is designed as a multidisciplinary environment rather than a conventional school, gallery, or commercial cultural venue. Its residencies and retreat programs support artists who need uninterrupted time for writing, composition, performance development, research, or studio production. The colony has hosted creators in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, playwriting, screenwriting, composition, and visual art. Among the writers and artists associated with its residency community are Andrew Sean Greer, Carmen Maria Machado, Sigrid Nunez, Alice Sebold, Annie Baker, Jen Silverman, Nick Flynn, Danez Smith, Linda Bouchard, Laura Kaminsky, Julia Dault, and Isa Leshko. The organization also developed its campus to address accessibility and environmental considerations. In the mid-1990s, it commissioned Michael Singer Studio to design an additional building in consultation with an advisory committee of six artists with disabilities. The resulting approximately 3,550-square-foot structure contains offices and public rooms as well as accommodation and studio space. Its design was intended to apply principles of universal access and environmentally responsible construction. Beyond residencies, Millay Arts offers workshops, classes, retreats, and free arts programs in local public schools. It also publishes Vincent, an annual journal presenting highlights from the Art-in-Residence community. The organization therefore functions both as a place for private artistic concentration and as a local cultural institution. The house and gardens at Steepletop are recognized as a National Historic Landmark, giving the organization an additional heritage-preservation dimension. The name Millay Colony for the Arts was later changed to Millay Arts. Its identity continues to rest on the relationship between the historic Steepletop property, the legacy of Edna St. Vincent Millay, and the provision of practical support for contemporary artists. Public information in the supplied reference material does not identify current leadership, a current website address, or detailed financial and attendance data.
History
The history of Millay Arts is rooted in Steepletop, a rural property in Austerlitz, New York, purchased by Edna St. Vincent Millay in 1925. Millay, an influential poet and playwright, used the property as a home and place of creative work. The estate included a house and blueberry farm, and Millay named it Steepletop after a pink, conical wildflower found in the area. Together with her husband, she added a barn constructed from a Sears Roebuck kit, a writing cabin, and a tennis court. Following Millay's death in 1950, her sister Norma Millay Ellis moved to Steepletop. Ellis transformed the property's cultural legacy into an institutional project in 1973 by founding the Millay Colony as a nonprofit organization. She donated the barn and surrounding acreage to the new organization. The barn was then renovated to provide living quarters and studio space for four resident artists, creating the physical basis for an artists' colony centered on concentrated work in a historic setting. The colony expanded its facilities during the 1990s. In the mid-1990s, it commissioned Michael Singer Studio to design a new building. The design process included consultation with an advisory committee of six artists with disabilities and emphasized universal access and environmentally responsible design. The approximately 3,550-square-foot building provided offices, public rooms, artist accommodation, and studio facilities. This expansion allowed the organization to support more varied programming while retaining the campus's residential and studio-based character. Over time, the colony became a multidisciplinary residency center serving writers, composers, playwrights, screenwriters, and visual artists. Its programs have included residencies, retreats, workshops, and classes. The organization also developed an educational role through free arts programs in local public schools. Its annual journal, Vincent, documents and highlights work connected with the Art-in-Residence program. The institution's setting remains central to its identity. Steepletop's house and gardens are recognized as a National Historic Landmark, linking the contemporary residency program to the preservation of Millay's home and creative environment. The organization later adopted the shorter name Millay Arts, while continuing to operate as an arts community offering residential and educational opportunities. The reference material does not provide a complete chronology of leadership, program scale, budgets, or later administrative developments.
- 1996
The colony expands its welcome
[4]The New York Times covered the organization's efforts to broaden access and participation at the artists' retreat.
- 1990
Campus expansion is developed
[1]During the mid-1990s, the organization commissioned Michael Singer Studio to design an accessible and environmentally considered building for offices, public rooms, accommodation, and studios.
- 1986
Norma Millay Ellis dies
[3]The New York Times published an obituary describing Ellis as the founder of the arts colony.
- 1974
The arts-colony project receives press coverage
[2]The New York Times reported on the conversion of Millay Farm into an arts colony.
- 1973
The Millay Colony is established
[1]Norma Millay Ellis founded the nonprofit Millay Colony and donated the barn and surrounding acreage to the organization.
- 1950
Edna St. Vincent Millay dies
[1]After Millay's death, her sister Norma Millay Ellis became the family member associated with Steepletop and later established the arts colony.
- 1925
Edna St. Vincent Millay purchases Steepletop
[1]Poet and playwright Edna St. Vincent Millay acquired the Austerlitz property that later became the home of Millay Arts.
Products and positioning
A historic, multidisciplinary artist residency and retreat center that combines protected creative space with community education and public arts programming.
Residency program · 1973
Artist residencies
Millay Arts provides residential opportunities for artists working across literature, music, theater, screenwriting, and visual art. The program is organized around giving participants dedicated time, accommodation, and studio or writing space in the Steepletop setting. Its multidisciplinary model has supported both emerging and established practitioners.
Arts education and retreat
Retreats and workshops
The organization offers creative retreats, workshops, and classes for artists and other participants. These activities extend the campus beyond the core residency model and provide structured opportunities for artistic development, exchange, and concentrated practice.
Arts publication
Vincent
Vincent is an annual journal associated with Millay Arts. It features highlights from the Art-in-Residence community and serves as a recurring publication through which the organization presents work and activity connected with its residency program.
Community arts education
Local public-school arts programs
Millay Arts provides free arts programs in local public schools. These programs give the organization a community-education role in addition to its residential support for professional and independent artists.
Sources5 sources
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