July 15, 2020

All About Art in East Hampton

If East Hampton was a member of a 90s boy band it would definitely be the sporty one. You know, with all its surfing, swimming, fishing, and sailing stuff. But it would also be the artistic one. The land of magical sunlight and sprawling natural landscapes, East Hampton has long been the muse for painters like William de Kooning and photographers like Peter Beard who venture to the Long Island’s east end to get inspired. And you will, too! Get an eyeful of some fun facts about the East Hampton art scene. Read more HERE.

NOT TO BE TAKEN LIGHTLY

The natural sunlight in East Hampton is really something to write...errr paint...home about! Maybe it's water molecules in the air that catch light in just the right way. Maybe it's something artists can only see. But what's clear is this so-called never ending golden hour's effect on everything from still life paintings to portraits.

SHIP HAPPENS

In 1960, founding Director of the Department of Education at the Museum of Modern Art, Victor D'Amico and his wife Mabel bought a World War I Navy barge. Then they turned it into an art studio. I mean, what else? Today, The Art Barge sits in Napeague Harbor just outside Hither Hills State park and offers classes in ceramics, studio painting, and photography for artists and aspiring artists alike.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME

Believe it or not, when the prince of pop art wanted to get away from it all, he high-tailed it to Montauk. Andy Warhol set up his relaxation station in a 30 acre, oceanside estate fondly known as "Eothen" meaning "from the east" back in 1972. And, of course, Warhol would invite friends over--pals like Mick Jagger, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Liz Taylor, and John Lennon just to name a few!

INSIDE THE STUDIO

We may never know exactly what was going on inside of the mind of so-called "action painter" Jackson Pollock, but you can get a look inside his art studio. The Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center still stands today in a wooden farmhouse in the town of Spring, East Hampton and is where Pollock and wife Lee Krasner both lived and made art. Pollock set up shop in the barn while Krasner painted in the bedroom. Tours are available courtesy of the Stony Brook Foundation where you can still see stray paint from Pollock's work scattered across the excavated floorboards.

ART-CHITECTURE

The new Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill East Hampton isn't just a building that houses art, it's a work of art in itself! The relationship between art, nature, and light that East Hampton is so famous for continues to play out in the space's innovative layout both inside and out. Designed by Herzog & de Meuron, the museum is constructed from natural up-cycled wood, illuminates much of the art using skylights, and overlooks a sprawling meadow filled with wildflowers.

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