Susan Vecsey

New Additions to the Guild Hall Museum Permanent Collection 2010-2014
Saturday, October 25 – Sunday, January 4, 2015
Opening Reception: Saturday, October 25 / 5:30-7:30pm

Works by Jennifer Bartlett, Victor Caglioti, Jack Ceglic, Chuck Close, Carolyn Conrad, Robert Dash, Rafael Ferrer, Eric Fischl, Cornelia Foss, Ellen Frank, Margaret Garrett, Ralph Gibson, April Gornik, Bernard Gotfryd, Balcomb Greene, Robert Harms, Mary Heilmann, Claus Hoie, Bryan Hunt, William King, Gloria Kisch, Barbara Kruger, Christa Maiwald, Jane Martin, Mercedes Matter, Thomas Moran, Jeff Muhs, Ruth Nasca, Costantino Nivola, Alfonso Ossorio, Betty Parsons, Joel Perlman, Joe Pintauro, Daniel Pollera, Larry Rivers, Clifford Ross, David Salle, Carol Saxe, Joel Shapiro, Drew Shiflett, Racelle Strick, Susan Vecsey, Esteban Vicente, Frank Wimberley, and Larry Zox.

In 1931, when Mrs. Lorenzo E. Woodhouse dedicated Guild Hall as a cultural center for the community, The New York Times noted that Howard Russell Butler’s portrait of Thomas Moran on exhibit was not a loan but an acquisition. “It marks the beginning of a permanent collection which is proposed to build up in Guild Hall,” the newspaper explained.

From the beginning more than 83 years ago, the holdings have grown significantly in size and scope. In the early 1960’s, the collection began to focus on the artists who have lived and worked in the region, including some of the country’s most celebrated painters, sculptors, photographers and graphic artists. In 1973, the museum received the distinction of being accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, and it was reaccredited in 2010. Today, the holdings of 19th, 20th and 21st century art number some 2,200 objects, and the museum continues to acquire works by donation and acquisition. This exhibition will focus on the works that have entered the collection from 2010-2014.

With its close proximity to New York City, the East End became a popular tourist destination with the onset of the Long Island Railroad in the late 19th century. The L.I.R.R. was very active in marketing the charms of the region by distributing thousands of brochures and leaflets. In the 1870s, Hudson River School painters portrayed the white sand beaches of eastern Long Island. Winslow Homer came to visit in 1872, and,  in 1878, a group of New York artists known as the Tile Club traveled to the East End and visited several of its small villages, including East Hampton. Thomas Moran and his family settled permanently in 1884. His home and studio became the center of life for artists who visited the village. In the teens, twenties and thirties, many artists, including Guy Pene du Bois and George Bellows, visited the area. Later after WWII, the Surrealists, aided by artist and philanthropist Gerald Murphy, were welcomed guests. They were followed by the Abstract Expressionist artists Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner and Willem de Kooning; Pop artists Roy Lichtenstein, James Rosenquist and Andy Warhol; Photorealists Audrey Flack and Chuck Close; 80’s and 90’s Neo-expressionist artists Eric Fischl, David Salle; as well as many contemporary artists, such as Ross Bleckner, Cindy Sherman and Richard Prince. These artist-residents continue to make the East End the country’s foremost art colony.

$7 Suggested Admission. Museum hours: Mon, Fri, & Sat 11am-5pm; Sun noon-5pm.

Lead Sponsors: Carol and Raymond Merritt, Joyce and George Moss, Katharine and William P. Rayner
Co-Sponsors: Richard I. Adrian, Ambassador and Mrs. Donald Blinken

All Museum programming is made possible in part though the generosity of Crozier Fine Arts, The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, the Helen Hoie Fund, The Lorenzo and Mary Woodhouse Trust, Melville Straus Family Endowment Fund, and with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts and Suffolk County.