8/20/08 What's Doing At The Bush-Holley Historic Site In Greenwich

Margaret Brassler Kane, detail of Symbols of Changing Man, 1937-39,
Limewood, Margaret Brassler Kane Foundation

Enriching cultural events to enjoy at Bush-Holley Historic Site in September

Stamford Plus Magazine

This September, the Bush-Holley Historic Site, located at 39 Strickland Road in Cos Cob launches their fall season of programs with an exciting new exhibition, a though-provoking lecture on Abraham Lincoln, museum docent training and a hands-on painting workshop focusing on the distinctive architectural aspects of the city.

The public is invited to an opening wine reception on Tuesday, September 23, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. for the first-ever retrospective of the sculpture of Cos Cob artist Margaret Brassler Kane (1909 to 2006). This rich and elegant exhibition reveals the little-known world of an artist deeply committed to her materials and subjects.

Interested in becoming a museum docent or exhibition guide? Learn about the benefits of being a docent and how you’ll learn about history and art along with other life-long learners at a docent information session in the Vanderbilt Education Center on September 15 at 10 a.m.

Also in store this month is a lecture by Harold Holtzer, co-chairman of the U. S. Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, titled The Making of the President, 1860: How Abraham Lincoln Ran for President. The lecture, which is open to the public, will be presented at the 77th Annual Meeting of the Historical Society of the Town of Greenwich on Thursday, September 17. Call 203-869-6899 for ticket information.

Throughout the year, guided tours of the circa 1730 National Historic Landmark Bush-Holley House feature historic interiors related to two Connecticut families who resided on the site; the Sarah and David Bush family and the Josephine and Edward Holley family. The house and grounds are open Tuesday to Sunday, 12 to 4 p.m. Admission to the gallery, visitor center and house museum is $6 adults, $4 seniors and students. Children under six are free. Tours of the house are included and are held at 15 minutes past each hour. Admission is Free on Tuesdays. Bush-Holley Historic Site is located at 39 Strickland Road in Cos Cob, CT. Take I-95, exit 4. For information about exhibition and adult, family and children’s programs, call 203-869-6899, x 10, or visit www.hstg.org.

September Events:

Bush-Holley Docent Program Information Session, Monday, September 15 at 10:00 a.m.

The Historical Society of the Town of Greenwich is looking for volunteers to become docents, museum educators trained to further the public’s understanding of the rich cultural and historical collections of Bush-Holley Historic Site. Docents lead school programs focusing on Colonial America, the American Revolution, and Impressionism. Docents will also give tours of the exhibition, Carved with Rasps and Chisels in the William Hegarty Gallery. To learn more about becoming a docent, please attend an information session in the Vanderbilt Education Center, or call Marybeth G. Nisco, Assistant Director of Education at (203) 552-5329, ext. 3 for further information.

Volunteer needs at Bush-Holley Historic Site

The Historical Society is seeking energetic volunteers for the following:

Bush-Holley House Museum and exhibition docents

The Antiquarius Holiday House Tour hosts and greeters

The Scarecrow Day activities facilitators

The Candlelight Tours and Marionette Theater hosts and facilitators

To learn more about these and other volunteer opportunities, please call Bush-Holley Historic Site at 203-869-6899, ext 18.

The 77th Annual Meeting of The Historical Society of the Town of Greenwichand William C. Crooks Distinguished Lecture featuring Harold Holzer:

The Making of the President, 1860: How Abraham Lincoln Ran for President will take place Wednesday, September 17 from 6:15 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at The Belle Haven Country Club, 100 Harbor Drive, Greenwich. The lecture & wine reception are $40 per person. To come to the lecture, reception and dinner the cost is $100 per person. For reservations, visit www.Bush-Holley.org, or call 203-869-6899, ext 14.

In the midst of a crucial presidential race, hear about the most important election in American history—the Abraham Lincoln campaign of 1860 and his equally crucial transition from Illinois to the White House. Harold Holzer is one of the most eminent Lincoln scholars, winner of a Lincoln Prize for his book Lincoln at Cooper Union and is co-chairman of the U. S. Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. He has authored, co-authored or been editor of 30 books on Lincoln and the Civil War era. A former journalist and political and government press secretary, Harold Holzer is senior vice president for external affairs for the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

New Exhibition-- Carved with Rasps and Chisels: The Sculpture of Margaret Brassler Kane (1909–2006)

Opening wine reception - Tuesday, September 23, 7:00–8:30 p.m.

This first exhibition of acclaimed sculptor and Cos Cob resident Margaret Kane reveals the world of an artist deeply committed to her materials and subjects. The exhibition which runs from Tuesday, September 23, 2008 to Sunday, January 11, 2009 will feature a broad selection of Kane’s stylized creations in wood, stone, clay, plaster and bronze include portrait busts, figure studies, animals and striking, large scale reliefs depicting 20th century events and prevailing social conditions. Through rare access to the artist’s studio and personal archive of photographs, records and writings, Curator Kathleen Motes Bennewitz has documented the work and career of this important woman artist.

Painting Workshop: Images of Cos Cob’s Architecture

Thursdays, from September 25 to October 30, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. in the Vanderbilt Education Center. Take an “art and photo tour” of Strickland Road and Bush-Holley House to discover what was and is so compelling to artists about the frame buildings of this historic part of Greenwich. Students will paint a building they choose guided by Artist-in-Residence Dmitri Wright. $300 for six-week course

Group Tours Offered:

The Art and World of Sculptor Margaret Brassler Kane – Visit the William Hegarty Gallery for an interpreter led tour of the exhibition Carved with Rasps and Chisels focusing on the types of materials and sculpting techniques used by the artist as well as the political, economic and social developments that influenced Kane’s work. The Gallery tour is followed by a special visit and tour of Kane’s Strickland Road studio where she lived and worked for almost 60 years. Group size limited to 10 - 20 people. Call 203 869-6899, ext. 10. Group rate- $4 per person for a one hour tour, Tuesday-Friday from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. 2 week advance registration required. Call to reserve, 203-869-6899.

Bush-Holley Historic Site, 39 Strickland Road in Cos Cob, features the circa 1730 National Historic Landmark Bush-Holley House, home of Connecticut’s first art colony. Open Tues. – Sun.; 12– 4 p.m. Admission to gallery, visitor center and house museum is $6, $4 for seniors and students. Children under 6 and Historical Society members are free. House tours are included with admission. Free admission Tuesdays. Take I-95, exit 4. 203-869-6899, x 10, www.hstg.org.

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