A Reflection on the Kathy Hirshon Exhibit, ‘Spirited Trees’
At The Bartlett Arboretum, Stamford, Connecticut
October, 2009- January 1, 2010 x Unlike the other seasons, autumn takes its time in arriving. Almost overnight, spring seems to pop into bloom after the yellow crocus peeks out from under the frost. Summer rushes in, never allowing enough time to fully embrace its warmth and extra long days. Inevitably, winter arrives, as it always must, with a biting wind, and then lingers much too long.
'Through the glass, brightly', view of the Lyman Estate, Waltham, Massachusetts
As I pulled up the long drive, lined with sturdy, shag-barked Maple trees, the snow-covered fields and a distant copse of fledgling oaks and birches to my right offered a glimpse of a Boston of long ago. Suburban neighborhoods and office parks now surround this pastoral vista, a gently rolling reminder of what much of this region (and in fact, most of 18th century America) looked like when the Lyman Estate property (“The Vale”) was acquired in 17…
My destination was the non-profit organization, Historic New England, based at the Lyman Estate in Waltham, MA. From there, a small and dedicated staff manages and preserves 36 historic properties in five New England states. Constructed over the course of four centuries (1664-1938), each serves as a small, freestanding museum and cultural milestone along the road of American architecture,
The "Vale" or Lyman Estate, home of the Waltham, MA based Historic New England which manages 36 properties in 5 state
design and everyday living. In addition to their properties, the Otis House Museum, in Boston, houses their collection of over one-million records: historic photographs, architectural drawings, ephemera, manuscripts and other printed material pertaining to life in the region.
It was because of their historical archives and related research that I traveled to meet with Sally Zimmerman, Preservation Specialist, and an authority on historic paint colors throughout the period. Sally has devoted much of her professional life to investigating the composition, uses and fashion trends expressed by both exterior and interior paint in historic New England homes over the years. My goal was to discover how paint colors and technology has changed over the centuries and to learn more about the investigative techniques that are used to uncover this little-understood aspect of our cultural heritage.More
Edward Hopper, Monhegan Houses, Maine, 1916 (Portland Museum of Art)*
June 25- October 12, 2009
Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme, CT
October 24- January 31, 2010
The Portland Museum of Art chronicles the development of impressionist Connecticut and early modernist Maine with 73 features works drawn from the collections of the Portland Museum of Art and the Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme, Connecticut. The Call of the Coast: Art Colonies of New England, is on exhibit through October 12, 2009 and subsequently can be seen at the Florence Griswold Art Museum, in Old Lyme, CT, from October 24-January 31, 2010.
For the new-comer, it is clear that Portland, Maine is a city by the sea. Dozens of squalling seagulls perform acrobatics overhead, announcing the arrival of tourists by the droves. Busy Commercial Street divides the harbor from the retail district– restaurants and souvenir shops by the dozens—which weave their way up the narrow, cobbled streets through the historic neighborhoods on the city’s ocean-facing hillside. A warm sea breeze, redolent with the aroma of the fish processing plants on nearby Casco Bay, hangs on every street corner, reminding the visitor of the region’s sea-borne legacy and the city’s time-honored maritime traditions. This city-by-the-sea seems a fitting location for an exhibition of works by some of New England’s greatest painters of the early 20th century, assembled, for a show celebrating their contribution to the region’s legendary scenery and people.
Ernest Lawson, Connecticut Landscape, 1902, o/c, Portland Mueaum of Art, H.E. Field Art Found. Collection, gift of Barn Gallery Assoc., Ogunquit, ME, 1979.13.31
The art colonies of New England played a key role in the creation of an American national identity in the early 20th century. Art colonies in Old Lyme and Cos Cob, Connecticut and Ogunquit and Monhegan, Maine were inspiration for nationally recognized artists including Edward Hopper, Childe Hassam, Robert Henri, and George Bellows, among others.More
At the narrow margin where land meets sea, beauty and ruin co-mingle. The source of inspiration for so many artists and writers, the waterfront can also stand as a symbol for despair. At once the Giver of Life, Ocean can be a cruel taskmaster, exacting a dear price from those that labor on or near its shifting tides.
In an exhibit entitled, Catching the Light: The Frenchboro Paintings, at the Archipelago Gallery in Rockland, Maine, artist, Daud Akhriev, captures in his paintings and pastels the contradictions and hardships of Maine coastal living in a collection of powerful and compelling images. Sponsored by the Island Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to cultural awareness, conservancy and research along Maine’s island-rich coastline, the show features both portraits and landscapes by this Russian-born artist, now residing in Tennessee.More
hy Hirshon Exhibit, ‘Spirited Trees’
