Tag: Fairfield County

Rare Book Sale at Pequot Library

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Exceedingly scarce rare books, known as “Specials” are what set the 53rd Annual Pequot Library Book Sale apart from other less-robust book sales. They are one reason Pequot Library’s Summer Book Sale is called, “The Best Book Sale in New England.” From Friday, July 26 – Tuesday, July 30, 2013, the public will have an opportunity to see and purchase collector’s items and first editions. Admission is free and all Sale proceeds benefit Pequot Library located on 720 Pequot Ave. in Southport. For additional information visit www.pequotlibrary.org or call 203-259-0346 ext. 15.

Pequot’s offerings of “specials” is consistently the finest, in all the book sales. This year, 2 rare signed books, inscribed by Jean-Paul Sartre, plus numerous signed works of US presidents and sports celebrities, and a reprint of the Bay Psalms (among the most valuable books in the world), will be for sale.

Bay Psalms Book is an exceedingly scarce early reprint (1862) of the first book printed in North America (in 1640). There were only 50 copies printed for subscribers. 12 of these copies are currently within institutions leaving 38 possibly remaining in private hands. The original copies are considered to be among the most valuable books in the world.

Other specials offerings include a number of rare signed books by Maurice Sendak, John Knowles, former US Presidents, George Bush and Jimmy Carter, baseball star, Hank Aaron, and WWl flying ace and American Aviator, Eddie Rickenbacker.

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Five (out of dozens) of signed books include: Jimmy Carter, The Virtues of Aging; Hank Aaron, I had a Hammer; Sandra Day O’Connor, Chico (an illustrated children’s book); Farah Pahlavi, An Enduring Love: My life with the Shah; and Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are. Two (of many) interesting first editions are by John Steinbeck, Sweet Thursday; and Pierre Boulle, Planet of the Apes.

Two scarce books on poetry include: The Newark Anniversary Poems (1917). This was done nearly 100 years ago in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of Newark (NJ). Apart from its local interest, this is notable for the inclusion of one poem by Ezra Pound. The Book of American Negro Poetry (1922), includes poems from many notable Black poets of the early 20th century.

Because of the long-time community support, Pequot’s sale, in its 53rd year, is the largest in the region with the most extensive selection books. Other valuable unsigned books for sale will include: a 1st printing/collector’s reprint edition (1966) of Tolkien’s, The Hobbit; a 1924 collection of 50 loose plates (Interieurs) featuring architectural drawings of interiors by seven French art deco designers/firms; 1892 edition of History of New Haven County — a very scarce first edition of this hefty (800+ pages) reference, plus numerous engravings/portraits with tissue paper. First editions including Planet of the Apes, and works by Dashiell Hammett, Robert Parker, John Steinbeck, along with many others are for sale.

Pequot Library’s 53rd Annual Summer Book Sale also has over 140,000 books, CD’s, DVD, records, videos.

HOURS AND PRICING
Friday, July 26: 9am to 8pm, DOUBLE the marked price
Saturday, July 27: 9am to 5:30pm, Priced as marked
Sunday, July 28: 9am to 5:30pm, Priced as marked
Monday, July 29: 9am to 6pm, HALF the marked price
Tuesday, July 30: 9am to 2pm, $5 PER BAG DAY!

Cash, check, and all major credit cards accepted.

Please visit www.pequotlibrary.org to learn more about this open-to-the-public small, unique, community library. For area information visit www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com.

JanetLeave a comment

Summer exhibits at Silvermine Arts Center

Kite - Charles Hinman and Master Printer Gary Lichtenstein
Kite – Charles Hinman and Master Printer Gary Lichtenstein

Silvermine Arts Center, located in New Canaan, CT will be kicking off its summer exhibitions with an exciting collaboration of works by Charles Hinman and Gary Lichtenstein, and new works by Guild Artist Christ Durante. Silvermine’s new Viewing Room features presentations of new works on paper by Guild Artists Roger Mudre and Robert Gregson. The exhibitions will open on Sunday, July 28th with a reception from 2pm-4pm, and will run through September 7th.

“Kites” features the latest collaborative silkscreens between three dimensional painting pioneer Charles Hinman and Master Printer Gary Lichtenstein. A working relationship which began in 2011 with their prints Gems, this latest body of work continues their exploration into translating the visual vocabulary of Hinman’s signature hard-edged shaped canvas into the realm of prints. By combining a mutual understanding of color and the use of subtle hand embossing, they have created a suite of prints that epitomizes the core of Hinman’s ideology: “Though the works at first glance appear serene and placid, they are ever changing as the surface of the ocean or the expanse of the sky. Ever dynamic, they are ever alive.”

A prime example of this idea can be seen in Kite 2. At first glance, the silkscreen faithfully reconstructs Hinman’s paintings down to the inclusion of subtle lines referencing the support system of his three dimensional work. As the viewer gazes at the work, the true complexity of its arrangement of space unfolds into an ever changing visual experience that expands upon Mr. Hinman’s longstanding commitment to visual perceptions of space.

In his new exhibit “No Mans Land,” Guild Artist Chris Durante has constructed an environment of what he calls “considered hanging,” where viewers can visually and physically traverse his works. An artist who is never satisfied with making work that neatly fits into prescribed categories, Durante continually explores and blurs the lines between mediums and artistic genres. Using a combination of paintings, drawings,graffiti, found objects and a collection of other materials, Durante creates a space that furthers his exploration of boundaries into a visual experience, creating a thought provoking space, a “place of freedom,” if you will, where viewers can explore ideas. About his work, Chris comments, “The inability to couple a thought with a sustained and focused action can be an asset if one can be patient and accept that condition as temporary. Let the mind wander and the hand fiddle. Attention is a slippery proposition. The unison of idea and craft will come, eventually.”

Drawing - Robert Gregson
Drawing – Robert Gregson

Silvermine’s new Viewing Room, will present works by Guild Artists Roger Mudre and Robert Gregson. A selection of new abstract silkscreens by Roger Mudre which were produced in collaboration with Master Printer Gary Lichtenstein and an installation of recently created optically fetching geometric drawings by Robert Gregson will be featured through the summer. For more information about the exhibitions and other upcoming events at Silvermine Arts Center call 203-966-9700 or visit our website at www.sivermineart.org.

About Silvermine Arts Center

Silvermine Arts Center located in New Canaan, Connecticut is one of the oldest artist communities in the United States. Located on a four acre campus, the center consists of a nationally renowned artist guild, award winning school of art offering multi-disciplinary art classes for all ages, an art and fine crafts shop and galleries, offering over twenty contemporary and historic exhibitions annually.

The center also provides innovative free and subsidized arts education in Norwalk and Stamford schools through its outreach program, Art Partners; and hosts a lecture series, performances, and special programs throughout the year. Silvermine Arts Center is a nonprofit organization.

Gallery Hours: Silvermine Galleries are open Wednesday through Saturday, 12p.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1pm to 5 p.m. For more information, call (203) 966-9700 ext. 20 or visit the website: www.silvermineart.org.

For area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

JanetLeave a comment

Bruce Museum features Durer, Rembrandt and Whistler

Joachim and the Angel ca. 1504 Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471-1528) Joachim and the Angel, ca. 1504 Woodcut From The Life of the Virgin Collection of Dr. Dorrance T. Kelly
Joachim and the Angel ca. 1504
Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471-1528) Joachim and the Angel, ca. 1504 Woodcut From The Life of the Virgin Collection of Dr. Dorrance T. Kelly

Located in Fairfield County Connecticut, the Bruce Museum located on One Museum Dr. in Greenwich is featuring prints of old masters and works from the 19th century through August 18th. This is one of the most distinguished local collections of prints that have been painstakingly assembled by Dr. Dorrance T. Kelly. The works include prints of Durer, Rembrandt and Whistler among other notable artists.

While Dr. Kelly’s collection has been comprised primarily of American 20th-century prints and prints by John James Audubon, in recent years he has also collected Old Master and 19th-century works extensively.

The Triumph of Mordecai Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (Dutch, 1606-1669) The Triumph of Mordecai, ca. 1641 Etching and drypoint Collection of Dr. Dorrance T. Kelly
The Triumph of Mordecai
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (Dutch, 1606-1669) The Triumph of Mordecai, ca. 1641 Etching and drypoint Collection of Dr. Dorrance T. Kelly

These encompass splendid sheets by the great German printmaker Albrecht Dürer, including a rare etching, woodcuts, and engravings of such iconic images as his Nemesis of 1502.

Dr. Kelly’s Dutch prints include several of the rare engravings after the influential Adam Elsheimer by Hendrik Goudt and no less than 28 images by the highly experimental printmaker Rembrandt van Rijn, ranging from early works of the 1630s to mature impressions from the 1650s.

Limehouse James Abbott McNeill Whistler (American, 1834-1903) Limehouse, 1859 Etching, printed in black on laid paper From “The Thames Set” Collection of Dr. Dorrance T. Kelly
Limehouse
James Abbott McNeill Whistler (American, 1834-1903) Limehouse, 1859 Etching, printed in black on laid paper From “The Thames Set” Collection of Dr. Dorrance T. Kelly

Dr. Kelly’s 18th-century holdings include sheets by the great Italian artists Canaletto and Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo and several fine sheets from Los Caprichos by the renowned Spanish artist Francisco de Goya y Lucientes.

Completing the collection is a group of etched cityscapes and figure studies by the American artist James Abbott McNeill Whistler.

Together the collection attests to the quality of some of the greatest printmakers in Western Art.

The exhibition – on view through August 18, 2013 and is accompanied by a scholarly catalog and a series of educational and public programs.

The Bruce Museum is grateful to Dr. Dorrance T. Kelly for sharing this extraordinary collection with the public.

About the Bruce Museum: Explore Art and Science at the Bruce Museum, located at One Museum Drive in Greenwich, Connecticut. The Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm and Sunday from 1 pm to 5 pm; closed Mondays and major holidays. Admission is $7 for adults, $6 for students up to 22 years, $6 for seniors and free for members and children under 5 years. Individual admission is free on Tuesday. Free on-site parking is available and the Museum is accessible to individuals with disabilities. For additional information, call the Bruce Museum at (203) 869-0376 or visit the website at www.brucemuseum.org. For area information on Fairfield County www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com.

JanetLeave a comment

Fashion Week at Fairfield Museum

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Fashionistas mark your calendars now for a behind-the-scenes preview of the new exhibition, In Vogue: A Runway of Vintage Fashion, with museum Curator Casey Lewis, followed by Lunch by SoNo Bakery and a Fashion Show by Fairfield designer Jennifer Butler. View highlights from Butler’s fall 2013 collection, which draws inspiration from fashion elements of the past.

In Vogue: Vintage to Modern will take place Wednesday, July 17th from 12-2 pm. Tickets are limited and can be purchased for $50 ($40 for Museum Members) online at www.farifieldhistory.org or by calling 203-259-1598.

Featuring pieces pulled directly from the Museum’s 100-year-old collection — one of the most comprehensive in Western Connecticut–In Vogue: A Runway of Vintage Fashion, will feature the fashion-forward women of Fairfield throughout the Colonial, Regency, Edwardian and Victorian Eras from 1780 to 1920. On view from July 18, 2013 – Jan. 5, 2014, the exhibit will showcase fashion trends of the past such as cage hoop skirts, bustles and gigot sleeves so large a woman could barely turn their heads.

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One highlight is a 1781 blue silk damask wedding gown worn by 14-year old Lucy Nichols who married Fairfield Reverend Philo Shelton on April 15, 1781. “White was not worn in weddings until Queen Victoria wore a white gown in her 1840 wedding to Prince Albert,” notes Casey Lewis, curator. Exquisite hats, shoes and vintage prints from Godey’s Ladies magazine, Vogue and other fashion publications from 1850-1910 are also on display.

Fairfield Museum and History Center is located at 370 Beach Road, Fairfield. Hours: M – F 10 am – 4 pm; Weekends noon – 4 pm: Members free; Adults $5; Students/Seniors $3; Children under 5 free. For more information about our events, exhibitions, or summer camps call 203-259-1598 or visit www.fairfieldhistory.org. For area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

JanetLeave a comment

Birds Eye View at Westport Arts Center

Alex MacLean, Tree Shadows in Snow, Middlebury, VT, 1990. Chromogenic print. Hall Collection. Courtesy the Artist and the Yancey Richardson Gallery.
Alex MacLean, Tree Shadows in Snow, Middlebury, VT, 1990. Chromogenic print. Hall Collection. Courtesy the Artist and the Yancey Richardson Gallery.

The Westport Arts Center (WAC) has launched its summer exhibition, “Bird’s-Eye View”. This show is curated by Director of Visual Arts, Helen Klisser During, and features major contemporary photographs, paintings, and drawings that depict intriguing aerial perspectives where people, roads, buildings, cities, and the countryside are deconstructed and abstracted. The exhibition will be on view through September 8.

Damian Loeb, Eminence Break, 2012. Oil on linen. Hall Collection. Courtesy the Artist and Acquavella Gallery.
Damian Loeb, Eminence Break, 2012. Oil on linen. Hall Collection. Courtesy the Artist and Acquavella Gallery.

The exhibition features works by Richard Artschwager, Olivo Barbieri, Edward Burtynsky, Christoph Draeger, Fred Herzog, Damian Loeb, Alex MacLean, David Maisel, Richard Misrach, Melanie Smith, Massimo Vitali, and Thomas Wrede.
A bird’s-eye view, or in other words, ‘the big picture’, explores the world seen from an aerial perspective.

Olivo Barbieri, Iquazu, Argentina/Brazil, 2007. Archival pigment print; edition 2/6. Hall Collection. Courtesy the Artist and the Yancey Richardson Gallery.
Olivo Barbieri, Iquazu, Argentina/Brazil, 2007. Archival pigment print; edition 2/6. Hall Collection. Courtesy the Artist and the Yancey Richardson Gallery.

This viewpoint has fascinated philosophers, writers, historians, and artists for centuries; however, it’s not until the invention of flight that humanity has had a bird’s-eye view. The Westport Arts Center is privileged to create an exhibition of 18 significant works from the internationally-renowned Hall Collection.

Massimo Vitali, Rosignano Donna Sola, 2004. C-print with Diasec face; edition of 6. Hall Collection. Courtesy the Artist.
Massimo Vitali, Rosignano Donna Sola, 2004. C-print with Diasec face; edition of 6. Hall Collection. Courtesy the Artist.

Other programs being hosted by the Westport Arts Center includes the Wednesday Summer Cafe, an interactive series of talks takes place from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. on June 26, July 10 & 24 and August 14. The Art Cafe takes place on Fridays from 10 a.m. – 11 a.m. and is free and open to the public. Hosted by Helen Klisser During, ArtCafé is a great way to meet other art enthusiasts and learn about exhibitions to visit in the greater community. Use The New York Times Friday Arts Section as a springboard to discuss the latest exhibitions.

On Thursdays, from 12 noon to 3 p.m. on July 11, 18 and 25 the WAC will host Plein Air seascape painting classes. Participants will join local artist, author, and teacher Judith Orseck Katz on an adventure of plein air watercolor painting of various seascapes throughout picturesque Westport. Students will discover how painting from life helps us to see and observe the affects of light and atmosphere and learn to develop clean, colorful, and dynamic compositions. This three-part workshop is designed to offer individualized attention and foster a creative space to gain self-confidence and expand your creative potential. All levels welcome, ages 15+. The cost is $65/class or $165 for series Non-Members; $50/class or $135 for series WAC Members.

For more information contact Westport Arts Center at (203) 222-7070, www.westportartscenter.org. The Westport Arts Center gallery is open seven days a week with summer hours: Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., at 51 Riverside Avenue, Westport, CT. For area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

JanetLeave a comment

Darien SideWalk Sales and Family Fun Days 2013

darien sidewalk 3

Darien is a lovely seaside community located on Fairfield County’s “gold coast” in the southwest corner of Connecticut. Every year, the Darien Chamber of Commerce holds the annual Sidewalk Sales & Family Fun Day. This year, the long anticipated Sidewalk Sale will take place on Thursday, Friday & Saturday, July 11-13, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Live bands, kids toys and bargains galore rain or shine are highlights of this fun family event.

This popular sales event features Darien merchants exhibiting along the Post Road and at the Goodwives and Noroton Heights Shopping Centers. This event is perfect for treasure hunters and bargain hunters because discounts of up to 70% can be found here. A special highlight of this event will take place on Saturday, July 13th, when Day Street will be closed to vehicular traffic permitting participants stroll around the event safely and enjoy the bargains, shade and hanging flower baskets while kids have a blast on the children’s inflatables.

dairen sidewalk

There will be children’s entertainment on Thursday, July 11 with a toy on the Post Road, and face painters at First County Bank. On Friday, July 12, there will be children’s entertainment including Home Run Challenge in Noroton Heights, in front of William Pitt Sotheby’s Int’l Realty, on Day Street and behind First County Bank & 1020 Post Road and live music in Gofer Plaza. In addition to this fun, the Uncle’s Hot Dog Cart will be in front of the Darien Fire Department and the Fire Truck will be out for children to enjoy. There will also be a visit from the Blue Fish Mascot that will entertain shoppers of all ages.

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On Saturday, July 13, in addition to the bargains to be found, there will be a face painter in Noroton Heights near Edward Tunick, BB the Bluefish Mascot, Zumba for the Family, an inflatable slide on Day Street (which will be closed to vehicular traffic), a huge inflatable Back Yard Obstacle Course behind First County Bank., and free balloons in Goodwives Shopping Plaza for the children to enjoy. For more information contact www.darienctchamber.com. For area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com.

JanetLeave a comment