A selection of original paintings of area historic sites will be auctioned Friday, Nov. 26 as a benefit for the Historical Society of the Town of Middletown (HSM).
Silent bidding will commence at 3 p.m. on the second floor of The Commons, Main Street, Margaretville. Art lovers, HSM supporters and visitors will enjoy light refreshments as they look over the 25 works on display and place their bids. Bidding will cease at 5:15, and winning bids will be announced at 5:30 p.m. There is no charge to attend the reception, which lasts until 6 p.m.
A selection of paintings can be viewed at HSM’s new website, www.mtownhistory.org. A revolving exhibit of the paintings to be auctioned can also be seen in the window of Miller’s Drug Store, Main Street, Margaretville through Thanksgiving. Proceeds from this fundraiser will go towards HSM’s efforts to erect historic markers throughout Middletown.
Ten talented area artists, members of the East Branch Delaware River Plein Air Painters, spent many days over the past year painting treasured buildings and iconic views of the Town of Middletown. Participating artists included Margaret Leveson, Alix Travis, Oneida Hammond, Rosamond Welchman, Patrice Lorenz, Nancy McShane, Carol Steene, Sumiko Patrone, Robert Axelrod and Linda Webb Varian.
While the artists gathered as a group to paint the selected sites, each work is a distinct interpretation of the building or view. Included among the images are Victorian homes and buildings on Walnut Street in Margaretville and Wagner Avenue in Fleischmanns; views of Pakatakan Mountain and the East Branch of the Delaware River; historic homes of the former Pakatakan Artists Colony in Arkville; the pastoral Clovesville Cemetery; maple syrup making and sugar houses in New Kingston and on Hubbell Hill; and the barn on the historic VanBenschoten farm on Margaretville Mountain.
Note cards of some of the artwork created for last year’s auction, handsomely collected in gift packages of five cards with envelopes, will be available for purchase, just in time for the holidays.
For more information: 845-586-4973; history@catskill.net.