A rtists have always been drawn to the East End of Long Island, to its broad fields, its wild ocean-front, to its infinity of lovely bays, coves and inlets. They have been drawn for centuries to this storied region that juts far out into the Atlantic, where the constantly changing light sweeps across the landscape. The prolific Moran family of painters and artists such as Childe Hassam, Winslow Homer and William Merritt Chase in the 19th century, the myriad of abstract expressionists who flocked to the Hamptons in the 1940’s, fifties and sixties, Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollack, and Lee Krasner, and such contemporary painters as Jane Freilicher, Erik Fischl, April Gornik, John Chamberlain, Adam Straus and Malcom Morley, all were drawn east from New York City. For all of them and for countless others, the Hamptons have been a social and artistic magnet.
But despite the incalculable riches of the artistic community, the only venue for years in which to exhibit their work was the Parrish Museum in Southampton, set on a busy shopping street. The building itself, while charming, was cramped and dated and had no room to grow—and actually belonged to the village of Southampton itself.
For years, artists and art patrons dreamed of a new Parrish. And in November of last year, this dream was finally realized. In the charming old town of Water Mill, the new Parrish sits beautifully in open fields, adjacent to a vineyard and winery. Inspired by the vernacular barns and artists’ studios of the area, the building, with its shed-like ambience, has a 34,400 foot footprint, tripling the former exhibition space.
Designed by the firm of Herzog & de Meuron, the huge, open space was crafted from 200-year-old heart pine that was salvaged from a demolished Virginia textile mill. The traditional post-and-beam and truss construction evokes the vernacular buildings of the region, while the old wood, combined with state-of-the-art lighting, is a metaphor for Hamptons art itself, a successful blend of the old with the new. Inspired by an East End artist’s studio, with north-facing skylights, the new Parrish has a cluster of ten galleries that open one to another.
The original plans for the new Parrish were even more extensive, but the recession forced a rethink. The resulting building is human in scale, an inviting and appropriate place in which to view not only the work of regional artists, but also a broad spectrum of painting and sculpture. The resulting 12,200 square-feet of gallery space will provide a home for the museum’s impressive permanent collection of 2600 paintings, sculptures and works on paper, as well as space for special and loan exhibits. A huge covered terrace provides event, workshop and performance space, and an interior theater provides the surrounding community with much needed performance space. The architects note: “The east-west orientation….generates dramatically changing perspective views of the building and further emphasizes the building’s extreme yet simple proportions.” Set in broad meadows planted with indigenous local grasses, it is a quintessentially Long Island place.
The new Parrish opened with installations of work from its permanent collection, works ranging from the mid-19th century to the present. It was truly a celebration of the new space and of the collection itself. In the old Parrish, only limited pieces could ever be displayed at one time due to the severely limited space constrictions.
For the inaugural exhibition, works were spread out through seven of the skylit galleries, each one offering a narrative relating to the history of art and artists on Long Island’s East End. It began with a selection of the museum’s most recent acquisitions, a group of works that provided a view of the forward-looking mission of the museum. The growth of the collection reflects both the intelligence of the management and the vision and amazing generosity of its donors.
The inaugural exhibition also paid tribute to the many extraordinary artists working on eastern Long Island today, and included works by such important artists as Donald Sultan, April Gornik, Eric Fischl and the late John Chamberlain. American Views, a gallery filled with landscapes, had works by such beloved East End luminaries as Child Hassam, Jane Freilicher, Sheridan Lord and Jane Wilson.
Two artists long associated with the Parrish, Fairfield Porter and William Merritt Chase were displayed in their own gallery.
Because of the fame, breadth and sophistication of the many artists who have been drawn to the East End,both past and present, the new Parrish Museum transcends it role as a regional museum. It reflects the very nature and progress and best of American art. u