Between A Peasant and A Patroon
You wouldn’t think the man in dirty work clothes is a descendent of Peter Stuyvesant and John Jacob Astor. Richard Aldrich (Ricky) is a graduate of Harvard and the Johns Hopkins School of International Relations and speaks five languages. He is the eldest of three children who inherited Rokeby Estate in Dutchess County, N.Y. when he was in his twenties. As a tenth generation descendent of the Livingstons and the Astors, Ricky represents one of the last original family owners of a Hudson River estate.
In order to photograph Ricky I had to follow him around as he attended to his numerous chores, sometimes riding on the back of his tractor. We went on numerous trips to the hardware store, visited all of his tenants, squeezed under a crawl space, and even stopped in the middle of nowhere to leave a note inquiring about a hay miser. This collection captures Ricky’s daily activities; his relationship with his land; his fascination with machines; and his willingness to get his hands— as well as the rest of his body— dirty. The artist/subject relationship evolved into an artist/apprentice relationship as I passed him a wrench or helped push his ice boat.
Ricky introduced me to some of his favorite things: gas, oil, ether, and WD-40. He explained that WD-40 means water density and forty indicates that they perfected the formula after the fortieth try.
The first photograph I took of Ricky was the summer before my senior year of college. I was driving down on the narrow dirt road that leads to Rokeby Estate when I was stopped by Ricky’s battered old car that was parked in the middle of the road. Ricky was sitting in the trunk of his car holding court with several people around him. This illustrates Ricky as a cultural paradox. I did not have my camera that day—so I used my iPhone to capture the moment. I never left the house without my camera again.
A writer once said that “Ricky would give you the shirt off his back, but who would want it?” You might not want his dirty shirt, but you would welcome his company, as I did over the year that we worked together.
This collection of photographs focuses on Ricky, a loving, caring, humble, generous and hardworking man with boundless curiosity and enthusiasm for life!
Ricky Aldrich and Rubi Rose Photograph by Andy Wainwright
Historical Background
Nestled in the Hudson Valley on the east side of the river is a 196-year-old land grant estate, La Bergerie given to the Livingston family by King James II of England in 1688. William B. Astor and Margaret Livingston Armstrong gave it as a wedding gift to their daughter Laura from her parents. Several generations later the name was changed to Rokeby after a poem by Sir Walter Scott. Rokeby consists of a large mansion, ten smaller houses and 460 acres of land off of the Hudson River.
Richard Aldrich is the eldest of three children who inherited the estate when he was in his twenties. He is the tenth generation descendent of the Livingston and Astor families. Rokeby is one of the last Hudson River estates still owned by the original family. Ricky is a graduate of Harvard and the Johns Hopkins School of International Relations, speaks five languages. His ancestors include Peter Stuyvesant and John Jacob Astor.
After he graduated from college he traveled around Eastern Europe. He met his wife Ania in Poland. Ricky returned to Rokeby in 1970.
Today, Ricky spends his time maintaining the structures, infrastructure and fields of Rokeby. Most of all, he loves driving his tractor because it gives him time to think. Ricky is social, but cherishes his solitude. He gets up early to go on his daily rounds, visiting his tenants and then goes into town where he is bound to run into his friends. He is welcomed wherever he goes, ready to discuss local and world events, politics, history, science, the workings of a backhoe or cherry picker. Of his prestigious lineage he quips, “Jake [John Jacob Astor] did the right thing (he went down with the Titanic).” His scope of knowledge is vast; he is a walking encyclopedia. He has a droll sense of humor, often punctuating with an impish grin.
Even though he technically owns the land, the land owns him. Ricky is a huge list maker. He types his lists on his vintage typewriter in the kitchen of the “big house” (mansion). He does not shy away from heavy work. Even today at seventy, he is out cutting up large trees with his chain-saw, transporting them long distances with his tractor, and using his favorite new toy—a saw mill that transforms the trees into boards that will be used for the new floor in the old barn.
A writer once said that “Ricky would give you the shirt off his back, but who would want it?” You might not want his dirty shirt, but you would welcome him anytime he happened to show up.
