Category: Connecticut Travel

The Housatonic Museum of Art located on 900 Lafayette Blvd. in Bridgeport is hosting a new show featuring the work of painter Sherri Wolfgang from June 1 – July 31. There will be an opening reception on June 15 from 5:30 p.m. -8 p.m. in the Burt Chernow Galleriese.

Wolfgang is known for her figurative works which utilize Renaissance painting traditions in combination with painting techniques developed by the Dutch Masters. Historically, Wolfgang portrayed her nude figures as examinations of the various female archetypes found in visual culture, with a caricatured sexuality and affected emotions. She applies different subject matter and genres that she has passionately embraced, such as anatomy and figure drawing, Expressionism, and portraiture with the interplay of light, color, and texture.

All of Wolfgang’s recent work has been done with a wide variety of media, including charcoal, Conte’ crayon, graphite, oil and resins on canvas, paper, and wood. This series includes portraits of a male dancer using 16th Century Mannerist aesthetics, while her upcoming series will combine Renaissance sensibilities with contemporary cultural figures

The Gallery is open June – July – August, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thursday evening until 7 p.m. The gallery is closed on Saturday and Sunday in summer. To sign up for a monthly newsletter on things to do and see, special events and travel tips in Litchfield Hills and Fairfield County visit www.litchfieldhills.com or www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

There is nothing that says summer and romance like a sunset cruise through Norwalk Harbor to Sheffield Island on the 45 ft. C.J. Toth catamaran for a relaxing two hour cruise. Along the way you will see the beautiful coastline of Norwalk and seabirds as you head out into Long Island Sound. This season the sunset cruises begin on June 23 and run every Friday evening through August 25.

Don’t forget to bring your camera and binoculars, snacks and a beverage. During this unforgettable adventure tour of the outer reaches of Norwalk Harbor you will see unique views of the city, surrounding waterways and picturesque Islands.
Boat Boarding begins at 6:15 p.m. and the vessel sets sail at 6:30 p.m. and returns to the dock at 8:30 p.m. Although walk-up tickets are sold, it is best to reserve your tickets in advance to avoid disappointment. The U.S. Coast Guard sets a limit of 49 passengers on board.

The limited number of people on this cruise adds to the intimate feel of this very special tour.
This year the Seaport Association is offering a dinner package after the cruise for an additional $35 at Sono Seaport Seafood that is in easy walking distance of the dock. Parking is best at the Maritime Garage.

For a free monthly newsletter on things to do and see and travel tips on Litchfield Hills and Fairfield County visit www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

It is hard to resist a glass of fine wine in a beautiful garden on a perfect summer evening. You can expect that and more at The Glebe House Museum’s festive garden party, Wine & Roses in the Gertrude Jekyll Garden on Hollow Road in Woodbury on Saturday, July 15 from 5:30 to 8:00 pm. Surrounded by bursts of summer flowers in the garden, bouquets of roses and live music, guests can sample Gertrude’s Garden, a white wine named for Gertrude Jekyll and bottled by Walker Road Vineyards in Woodbury. Hors d’oeuvres and other wine will also be served. There will be a silent auction of very special items chosen for this event. The museum will be open for the evening. Tickets for the garden party are $25.00 per person and all proceeds will support the Glebe House Museum & Gertrude Jekyll Garden.

Set in the picturesque Litchfield Hills in historic Woodbury’s village center, the museum welcomes visitors for a glimpse of Revolutionary War era Connecticut. The simple but elegant 18th century farmhouse is furnished as the home of the Reverend John Rutgers Marshall, his wife Sarah, their nine children and three slaves who lived in the “glebe” during the turmoil of the American War for Independence. The Glebe House was restored in 1923 under the direction of Henry Watson Kent, pioneer of early American decorative arts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. One of the early historic house museums in the country, The Glebe House opened its doors to the public in 1925, and is celebrating its 92nd anniversary this season.

In 1926, the famed English horticultural designer and writer, Gertrude Jekyll, was commissioned to plan an “old fashioned” garden to enhance the newly created museum. Ms. Jekyll had a profound influence on modern garden design and is widely considered the greatest gardener of the 20th century. Although a small garden, when compared with the 400 more elaborate designs she completed in England and on the Continent, the Glebe House garden includes 600 feet of classic English style mixed border with sweeps of red, yellow and gold and cool waves of lavender and blue hues, and foundation plantings. It is the only remaining example of her work in the United States today. The garden is open during daylight hours and the museum is open May-October, Wednesday through Sunday from 1-4 pm or by appointment.

To reserve tickets for WINE AND ROSES please call the Museum Director at 203-263-2855.

On Sunday, July 16, 2017, 2:30-4:30 p.m. at the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum, 295 West Avenue in Norwalk, CT, legendary Textile Conservator and FIT Professor June Burns Bové will present, What to wear? How the Bride Decides, a talk on the fashion and social history of the wedding dress.

“Museum catalogers are usually happy to be assigned a wedding dress; the date is very certain,” Ms. Bové said, “But that is the only certainty, for the very act of saving the dress is proof of its value to the woman who wore it. It tells about her sense of style, her economic circumstances, and her social environment.”

There may be great differences between the attire of two brides married on the same day; one may wear French couture and the other, her best day dress, but the fashion lines are discernible. During the times between two great wars, American women looked to a number of sources for fashion news, starting with the colored engraving and then the photograph. Magazines directed to women were important, but so were newspapers with pictures of actresses and the social elite. Not all dresses were saved, nor are all dresses saved today. Brides often wore their dresses as reception dresses after the wedding or made children’s clothing from the fabric. Nowadays, dresses may be resold on eBay and Craigslist. We have the ones that were kept to tell us about that “one special day” and the world of the woman who wore it.

June Burns Bové earned a BA from Bucknell University in English and French Literature and an MA from New York University in Costume Studies. For twenty years a contract employee of the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, June is Textile Conservator for Yeshiva University Museum and has been an adjunct assistant professor in the School of Graduate Studies of Fashion Institute of Technology since 1991 where her specialty is costume exhibition.

She has consulted for many museums and institutions including The Newark Museum, The New-York Historical Society, The New Jersey Historical Society, The Jewish Museum, the Morse Museum of Winter Park, Florida, The Merchant’s House of New York City, and the Art Department of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. In 2011 The Costume Society of America named her a Fellow of the Society.

This Salon includes a talk, refreshments, and a tour of the first floor of the Mansion; $15 for members, $20 for non-members per session. Refreshments are courtesy of Best in Gourmet. Please RSVP by Thurs, July 13, 2017. The chair of the Lecture Committee is Mimi Findlay of New Canaan.

The Center for Contemporary Printmaking located on 299 West Ave. in Norwalk is once again hosting the biennial International Miniature Print Exhibition in its galleries from June 4-August 27. The Gallery is open Tuesday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Wed. – Sat. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sun. from noon to 5 p.m. The gallery is closed on Monday.

The highlight of this juried exhibition and competition is that all artwork is limited to works that are no more than four square inches or 25.8 square cm. in size. The purpose of this show is to encourage artists to explore the miniature print format. It is also an opportunity for artists and the public to view the current concerns of printmakers from around the world. Since its inception in 1997, the competition has attracted entries by more than 1500 artists from around the world.

This year, the first prize winner is Dorothy Cochran from New Jersey, the second place winner is Michaela Winter from Germany and the third place winner is Christine S. Aaron from New York. For a complete list of award winning artists as well as artists accepted to display their work in this exhibition visit the website. This is truly an international show with works on display from artists living in: Denmark, China, Croatia, the U.K., Greece, France Ireland, to name a few, as well as many participants from the U.S.

This year, the Juror is Freyda Spira, Associate Curator, Department of Drawings and Prints, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Spira earned her Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, and specializes in Early Modern German art, works on paper, and Reformation imagery. She has authored several articles and books, including: Daniel Hopfer and Early Etched Armor in Augsburg; Imperial Augsburg: Renaissance prints and drawings, 1475-1540 with Greg Jecmen; Dürer and Beyond: Central European drawings before 1700 in The Metropolitan Museum of Art with Stijn Alsteens; and The Power of Prints: The Legacy of William M. Ivins and A. Hyatt Mayor (2016). She is currently working on an exhibition about Renaissance etching.

Go back in time with the Fairfield History Museum located on 370 Beach Street as they once again offer the historic walking tours — “The Burning of Fairfield”! On this tour, you will experience the Town’s burning as if you were there by walking in the foot steps of local residents that experienced the attack. Participants will learn about the events surrounding the attack on Fairfield at the time of the American Revolution.

The tour begins with costumed tour guides at the classic Fairfield town green with its lovely Congregational Church and colonial homes. Stroll back in time while exploring the history and events surrounding the attack on Fairfield by the British on July 7-8, 1779.

Listen to the Proclamation from British General William Tryon and Admiral Collier, to the people of Connecticut. Hear the anguished words of Eunice Burr, as she witnesses the ransacking and destruction of her home, at the site where it happened.
Young William Wheeler’s voice speaks to you of his family’s struggle to evacuate the town and his feelings of pride at the heroic actions of the local militia and the Fort at Black Rock as they work to fend off the Crown Forces.

Think about the somber after action report of Reverend Andrew Eliot as he reflects on the events of those two days in July, and their meaning for the town and its future.

It is recommended that you register for this tour in advance to guarantee your spot on the tour. Tickets may be purchased online; adults are $10 and Students are $5. The tours are offered on July 9 12:30 pm – 2 pm.