June fun at the Greenwich Historical Society

The Greenwich Historical Society has planned four fun filled events for the month of June beginning with a lecture on June 10 by Dr. Jackson Lears on Two Gilded Ages from 7 p.m. - 8 p.m. at the Vanderbilt Education Center.  

For some years, historians have theorized that we are living in a second Gilded Age, a reprise of the era that occurred a century ago. The decades between the1980s and the 2010s hold a remarkable similarity to those between the 1880s and the 1910s, both periods characterized by unregulated economic expansion, flagrant corruption on Wall Street, growing class divisions, the concentration of wealth within a conspicuously consuming elite and a series of imperial adventures (or misadventures) abroad.

Dr. Jackson Lears will examine the parallels and differences between the two eras to explain why the growth of inequality 100 years ago provoked widespread demands for reform among the populace (even among the well-to-do, motivated then by a paternalistic sense of responsibility), while contemporary comment on the situation is largely absent.

Connecticut's Open House Day falls on June 14 this year and the Greenwich Historical Society is planning a collage workshop that will focus on creating two-dimensional collages crafted from papers, fabrics, photographs, found objects and natural materials such as dried grasses, twigs, leaves, or petals. All materials will be provided, but participants may also bring copies of favorite photos, newspaper articles or other items to incorporate into their work. The workshop will take place in the Vanderbilt Education Center from noon to 2:00 pm, and all ages are welcome.

On June 21, from 1:30 to 3:00 pm the Greenwich Historical Society is planning a two-wheeled adventure and will provide a historical bike tour of Greenwich Point as a part of the annual Experience the Sound event. Participants are invited to explore the rich history of Greenwich point looking at everything from its geology to the many features that make it the beloved town park it is today. Participants will meet at the first parking lot on the right after entering the park. As the group travels around the point they will stop to hear stories, take a closer look at some of the ruins and see vintage photos from the Historical Society's collection. There will also be a scavenger hunt for children. Participants must bring their own bike and helmet and a water bottle is highly recommended. No reservations required and participation is free, but a park or guest pass is required for entry to Greenwich Point. All ages are welcome but children must be able to ride a bike.

The month ends with a Festa Al Fresco, on June 29 from 4 pm to 7 pm  a potluck supper to celebrate the history and the community of Italian immigrants who settled in Greenwich in the early twentieth century. The family "festa" was launched last year as part of the Historical Society's programming for the exhibition From Italy to America and in celebration of the Town of Greenwich's twinning ( "Gemallagio") with the Italian cities of Rose and Morra di Sanctis, where many of Greenwich's Italian early immigrants came from. The event proved so successful that it's back by popular demand. Guests are invited to demonstrate their culinary skills and to show off favorite family recipes (enough to share with 6-8) in one of four categories: antipasti/appetizers, pasta/main dishes, sides and salads or desserts. Wine, musical entertainment and crafts for kids are included in the price of admission. Mangiamo!

For more information about the Greenwich Historical Society visit http://greenwichhistory.org. 

Pathways: Exploring White’s Woods

From the first day Kerwin Mayers stepped onto the boardwalk at White’s Woods, which is part of White Memorial Foundation located off Rte. 202 in Litchfield  she knew this special area would beckon her again and again. Before moving to Litchfield Hills in 2007, she had not been a landscape painter, but the beauty of the region became a beacon that directed her work down this path.

Two years ago, she thought she would try a series of twelve paintings representing each month. Quickly the project expanded to more than thirty paintings taken from many spots in White’s Woods at all times of the year and all times of the day.  She is indebted to the Alaine White family for providing this amazing preservation for all to enjoy and for her, a blank canvas to fill. 

Kerwin started painting in oil at Sarah Lawrence College and has since studied for many years with Pamela duLong Williams. Her art education has been broadened through workshops with Wolf Kahn, Charles Sovek and Robert Burridge. In recent years her paintings have been in juried shows at the New Britain Museum of American Art, the Rowayton Arts Center and Kent Art Association.

A portion of all art sales benefit the Oliver Wolcott Library.  In addition, the artist will be giving an additional portion to the White Memorial Foundation for their boardwalk. In the gallery: through June 28. The Oliver Wolcott Library is located on 160 South Street, Litchfield, CT. 06759. 860-567-8030. www.owlibrary.org

From the first day Kerwin Mayers stepped onto the boardwalk at White’s Woods, which is part of White Memorial Foundation located off Rte. 202 in Litchfield  she knew this special area would beckon her again and again. Before moving to Litchfield Hills in 2007, she had not been a landscape painter, but the beauty of the region became a beacon that directed her work down this path.

Two years ago, she thought she would try a series of twelve paintings representing each month. Quickly the project expanded to more than thirty paintings taken from many spots in White’s Woods at all times of the year and all times of the day.  She is indebted to the Alaine White family for providing this amazing preservation for all to enjoy and for her, a blank canvas to fill. 

Kerwin started painting in oil at Sarah Lawrence College and has since studied for many years with Pamela duLong Williams. Her art education has been broadened through workshops with Wolf Kahn, Charles Sovek and Robert Burridge. In recent years her paintings have been in juried shows atthe New Britain Museum of American Art, the Rowayton Arts Center and Kent Art Association.

A portion of all art sales benefit the Oliver Wolcott Library.  In addition, the artist will be giving an additional portion to the White Memorial Foundation for their boardwalk. In the gallery: through June 28. The Oliver Wolcott Library is located on 160 South Street, Litchfield, CT. 06759. 860-567-8030. www.owlibrary.org

About White Memorial Foundation

The White Memorial Conservation Center, an Environmental Education Center and Nature Museum, is located in the heart of the 4000-acre White Memorial Foundation in the hills of northwestern Connecticut.

In 1964 the Center was established in the former home of Alain White and his sister, May. Their vision and generosity led to the formation of the White Memorial Foundation in 1913. A non-profit tax exempt organization, the Center was incorporated to add the goal of Education to the Conservation, Research, and Recreation purposes for which the foundation was formed.

The Conservation Center operates a Nature Museum with exhibits focusing on the interpretation of local natural history, conservation, and ecology, as well as a museum store, classrooms and dormitory. The outdoor arena includes the wildlife sanctuary maintained by the White Memorial Foundation. The Foundation today comprises 4000 acres of fields, water, and woodlands, trails, campgrounds, boating facilities, and special areas for large outdoor education and recreational gatherings. 

For more information about White Memorial www.whitememorialcc.org.  For information on Litchfield Hills www.litchfieldhills.com.  

Pasture to Pond: Connecticut Impressionism

Pasture to Pond: Connecticut Impressionism  at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, CT,  runs through June 22, brings American Impressionism back to its roots, according to the Museum’s Executive Director, Peter C. Sutton.

Davis_Uplands 

Charles H. Davis, (American, 1856-1933) 

Summer Uplands, n.d. 

 “The history of art proves that Connecticut has long been one of the most fertile states for the creation of new art movements,” says Peter Sutton. “In no small measure it was the birthplace of American Impressionism.”

Drawn from the permanent collection of the Bruce, private collectors, area museums, and the trade, this exhibition of more than 25 works of American Impressionism speaks to the quality and beauty of this perennially popular art, and to Connecticut’s important role in its creation.

Before the turn of the 20^th century, Connecticut was a logical birthplace for American Impressionism, as artists sought a nearby, rural respite from the burgeoning urban and rapidly industrializing world. While their artistic predecessors, the landscape painters of the Hudson River School, had championed dramatic landscapes of panoramic sweep and awe-inspiring majesty, the artists who came of age after the calamity and chaos of the Civil War sought a more intimate, bucolic and orderly landscape.  They found these reassuring views among the farms, rolling hills, rivers and picturesque shoreline of Connecticut.

Metcalf_Autumn 

Willard Leroy Metcalf, (American, 1858-1925)

While steeped in pre-Revolutionary history, Connecticut was readily accessible by train to these escaping urbanites, many of whom had winter studios in New York City.  Artists’ colonies sprang up in Cos Cob and Old Lyme and landscapists took to recording favored sites in places like Branchville, Farmington, Mystic and the Litchfield Hills.  The names of these artists – John H. Twachtman, J. Alden Weir, Childe Hassam, and Willard Metcalf – are among the most famous landscapists in American art history.  While some, like Robinson, made regular pilgrimages to France to paint alongside the great French Impressionist Claude Monet, others learned the style second hand, and collectively they made it a uniquely American manner.

“Several of the artists featured in the show exhibited in the famous Armory Show in New York in 1913, which is generally regarded as the watershed moment that introduced Modern Art and the likes of Marcel Duchamp to America,” says Peter Sutton.  “It is with pleasure then that we remember with this exhibition an era of enduring local creativity and the celebration of the beauty of our own special corner of New England.”

Crane_Harvest Moon 

Bruce Crane, (American, 1857-1937) 

Pasture to Pond: Connecticut Impressionism is generously underwritten by People’s United Bank, a Committee of Honor co-chaired by Leora Levy and Alice Melly, a grant from the Connecticut Office of the Arts, and The Charles M. and Deborah G. Royce Exhibition Fund.

And when you go, don’t forget your cell phone:  This exhibition, like many others at the Bruce, will be accompanied by a compelling cell phone audio tour guide program, Guide by Cell, generously 

New Exhibit on the Colonial Revival to Open at the Litchfield Historical Society

Dominated by the white clapboard Congregational meetinghouse, the stone clock tower of the Court House and the immaculate homes with white paint and black shutters, Litchfield has come to embody the quintessential New England town. It is easy to imagine our colonial ancestors living in such a beautiful pastoral setting. What is harder to image is that Litchfield’s picturesque beauty was not a product of the colonial era, but a late 19^th- and early 20^th- century movement known as the Colonial Revival.

Opening April 12, 2014, the Society’s new exhibit, The Lure of the Litchfield Hills, will explore what was behind the Colonial Revival Movement, how the residents of Litchfield embraced their ancestral past, and how the community came to look the way it does today. Visitors are invited to join in exploring this social movement that touched all aspects of American life from architecture and landscaping, to fashion, home decoration and beyond.

Featuring items from the museum’s collections, ranging from documents and photographs to furnishings, house wares, and clothing The Lure of the Litchfield Hillswill be a must-see exhibit. Come explore Litchfield’s past this spring, and don’t forget to stop by the Tapping Reeve House and Litchfield Law School to see the completed exterior renovations.

The exhibit will open on Saturday, April 12. The Litchfield History Museum’s hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 11:00 am to 5:00 pm, and Sunday, 1:00 to 5:00 pm.

The Lure of the Litchfield Hills will run through the 2014 and 2015 seasons at the Litchfield History Museum, 7 South Street, Litchfield. For more information visitwww.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org or call 860-567-4501.