Dan's Papers - January 18, 2008 - Honoring the Artist: Barbara Hadden

Barbara Hadden's cover painting, "Heading Home," is especially heartfelt. While Ms. Hadden has lived in many different places during her life, she considers Sag Harbor's landmark bridge especially dear.

It's not only the emotional idea of crossing the bridge that's important to her, but also the sight of the water below. (Ms. Hadden grew up overlooking the Hudson River and also lived near the Long Island Sound).

Yet the bridge could also serve as a symbol for this artist's personal and professional pursuits, her journey from one lifestyle to another.

Q: The most important decision you probably ever made was leaving college and your home to come to New York City and study acting.

A: Yes, I ran away to study acting. I don't regret a minute of it. I loved being at the American Academy of Dramatic Art and staying out all night with friends. And going to the movies at 2 a.m. in Times Square. It was a special time.

Q: What attracted you to acting?

A: It is a form of therapy. It's a release.

Q: What made you give it up?

A: I met the theatre actress Kim Stanley (who was called "the female Brando") when I wrote her a fan letter. She was so brilliant; I gave up acting after I met her.

Q: You remained a friend of hers for several years.

A: Yes, I went to see her in Sante Fe when she was dying.

Q: You were so obsessed (your word) with acting, but you turned to painting. I can see why because of your family tradition.

A: My great uncle on my mother's side was a member of the Hudson River School; on my father's side there were portrait painters. My mother could have been a painter, but women were not encouraged.

Q: Which proves that you inherited artistic genes. I believe in that. I also believe you are still on a journey, still experimenting. You mentioned you taught patients how to create murals at Roosevelt Hospital in New York. That was an adventure for sure.

A: Yes. I wanted to get things out of the patients, to get them to express themselves.

Q: But you're still on a journey of sorts. For example, your subject matter, media and locale are changing.

A: I am now doing seascapes. Well, really landscapes with water. And I'm using oils when I previously used watercolors. I also would go to Maine and paint the houses on the water. In fact, I got addicted to Maine, but no more. I'm more in love with Sag Harbor.

Q: You have mentioned your love of buildings and the fact that you paint the shops on Main Street in Sag Harbor. Did you ever want to be an architect?

Q: But you stick with art. Why is it important to you?

A: I do it to get "stuff" out. The experience is almost spiritual. And everywhere I look, I see a picture. I never say, "What am I going to paint?" I will never run out of ideas.

Marion Wolberg Weiss

Ms. Hadden's work can be seen in the current exhibit, "Salon d'Hiver," at The Winter Tree Gallery in Sag Harbor. Call (631) 725-0097.