Barn House is the site of a summer artists' colony in Chilmark, Massachusetts, on the island of Martha's Vineyard.

One early settler in what is now Chilmark, Massachusetts was Nathan Skiffe, who established a 50 acres (20 ha) sheep farm in 1686.

[2] In 1919 Gertrude King acquired 43 acres (17 ha), including the house and barn, on behalf of a group friends who eventually organized as the Chilmark Associates.

This group of well-to-do liberal artists, writers, and activists sought to adapt the property for use as a communal summer retreat.

Notable members and guests include journalist Walter Lippman, jurist Felix Frankfurter, judge and political activist Dorothy Kenyon, painter Thomas Hart Benton, poet Sylvia Plath,[2] writer Max Eastman.