Peconic Painters In Riverhead

The Peconic Bay Impressionists Put On Quite A Show

By Debbie Tuma

One of the oldest art colonies in America, known as The Peconic Bay Impressionists, consisted of a group of painters from all over the North Fork. This outdoor painting became known as “plein-aire.” The artists literally took their easels and paints and went out to the bays, beaches, or woods, to paint directly from nature.

Now a new show of their works, done during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, has just opened at the Suffolk County Historical Society in Riverhead. This new exhibition, called, “Caroline M. Bell and the Peconic Bay Impressionists,” opened to the public last Friday (December 8), with a reception and will run through April 30, at the Suffolk County Historical Society at 300 West Main Street in Riverhead.

This show, which consists of the beautiful paintings of Caroline M. Bell and about 20 of her students and associates, was curated by Terry Wallace, owner of the Wallace Gallery in East Hampton. Wallace is an authority on American art, specializing in Long island painters. He spent ten years putting together this comprehensive exhibition. He also authored a 200-page hard-cover book of these artists’ paintings. In the book and exhibition, he features the paintings of Caroline M.Bell, who lived from 1874-1970, and spent much of her time in the Peconic region of the North Fork. She had a studio in Mattituck, where she taught many students. One of her studios still stands, located on the corner of Love Lane and Route 25A, and is known as the “Octagon House.” She later built a studio overlooking Mattituck Inlet, on Love Lane and Sound Avenue.

The exhibit, which covers the period from 1900-1970, includes other Peconic Bay Impressionist painters from the North Fork, such as Julia M. Wickham, Marguerite Moore Hawkins, Ruth McAdams, Carrie Carter Wells, Clara Moore Howard, Dorothy E. Raynor, Clara Wells Howell, Annie Young, Otto J. Kurth, Helen M. Kroeger Kurth, Madeline Howard Bassarear, and Agnes J. Mothersele.

Terry Wallace said he wanted to do an exhibit and a book on the Peconic Bay Impressionists because up until now, there has been very little scholarship on this group.

“They were not widely recognized for their artistic contribution during their lifetime,” he said. “Interest in their work has grown in recent years, placing them in the field of America’s leading Impressionists.” When asked how he came to be interested in this group, he said, “I started to buy these paintings in the 1980s, after visiting the North Fork, and finding them in the antique stores. Most of the paintings came from Laurel, Cutchogue, Southold, and other parts of the North Fork.”

Wallace said this “very historic” exhibition has stirred a big interest from art lovers on the North Fork, as evidenced by the large turnout of about 150 people at last Friday’s opening night reception. He said Caroline M. Bell draws a big crowd, since she was “one of the first North Fork artists to paint outside, and subsequently she taught other artists to do so as well.”

Wallace explained that in researching the book, he learned that, “The name ‘Peconic Bay Impressionists’ was a new name for American artists.” He said there was already a group of artists who painted inside their studios, called the Peconic Colony Artists. Mostly, they hailed from the larger cities and moved to the Peconic region. They included such artists as Irving Wiles, Edward August Bell, and Henry and Edith Prellwitz.

Unlike them, the Peconic Bay Impressionists were mostly born and raised on the North Fork and many were also direct descendents of the founding fathers of Southold Town. The artistic educations and styles of the two Peconic groups of artists differed as well. The Peconic Colony artists were trained at the National Academy of design in a traditional manner, and exhibited their work nationally at major venues. The Peconic Impressionists were educated informally by a group of artists and they often painted outside together along the shores of the North Fork, on Peconic Bay. They also traveled to other areas including Woodstock, N.Y, Gloucester, Mass., and Rockport, Mass.

The book, “Caroline M. Bell and The Peconic Bay Impressionists,” is available at Bookhampton, Border’s, and at other bookstores on the North Fork. Wallace said even though he could have chosen other venues for this art exhibit, he chose the Suffolk County Historical Society, with the help of Director Wally Broege, “because of the historical nature of this work.” Stop by and view this beautiful exhibit of local painters, until April 30 of 2007. For more wonderful artwork by American painters, stop by the Wallace gallery in East Hampton. .