Rosella Hartman and The Animal Sculptors of Woodstock

Signs of the Times Dates: Saturdays & Sundays Sep 5 through Nov 8, 1–5 p.m. Opening reception Saturday Sat, Sept 5, 3–5 p.m. talk by curator Bruce Weber at 4 p.m.) Gallery Talks: Sun, Sep 20, 1:00 p.m. Sun, Oct 25, 2:30 p.m. Location: Historical Society of Woodstock 20 Comeau Dr., Woodstock NY 12498 Admission: Free The Historical Society of Woodstock is pleased to announce its new exhibition, Rosella Hartman and the Animal Sculptors of Woodstock. The exhibition celebrates the life and career of Rosella Hartman (1894-1993), who, for almost seventy years, made her home in Woodstock, New York, where she became one of the most beloved artists of the famous art colony. The exhibition also touches on the work of the Woodstock sculptors Grace Mott Johnson (1882-1967), Hunt Diederich (1884-1953), Carl Walters (1881-1955), John B. Flannagan (1895-1942), and Hartman’s husband Paul Fiene (1899-1949), who joined her as part of an outstanding group of twentieth century American artists who were devoted to depicting animal subjects. Rosella Hartman and the Animal Sculptors of Woodstock features approximately forty paintings, drawings, watercolors, lithographs, drypoints and etchings from the course of Hartman’s successful career., and a small group of sculpture. The exhibition is curated by the art historian and board member Bruce Weber and is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalog with an essay by Dr. Weber, who during the course of organizing the exhibition associated with the artist’s great niece Suzi Van Ness, who generously donated a group of more than twenty stellar works by Hartman to the collection of the Historical Society of Woodstock. The exhibition has been sponsored by Sharon Fletcher, whose former husband Tom Fletcher was a close friend of Hartman, who played a role in inspiring him to open an art gallery in Woodstock that operated from 1992 to 2019 and specialized in the art of the colony. There will be an opening reception on Saturday, September 5 at 3:00 p.m. and gallery talks by curator Bruce Weber on Sunday September 20 at 1:00 p.m. and Sunday October 25 at 2:30 p.m. On Saturday October 3rd at 2:30 p.m. Katherne Rangoon Doyle will be presenting the lecture “John B. Flannagan, Sculptor of the Maverick Horse,” and signing copies of John B. Flannagan: A Salvation in Stone, the first book to be published on this pioneering American sculptor, who was a regular visitor to Woodstock, and created the magnificent wooden sculpture of the Maverick horse, which resides in the Maverick Concert Hall. Admission to all events and the exhibit is free. (Note: Due to limited parking, if able, please park in the Lower Comeau parking lot and take the path at the end of the lot to the Historical Society. Accessible parking is available at the museum.) The Historical Society of Woodstock was founded in 1929 by a group of artists, writers, academics, and local citizens. In addition to the exhibition space, which is located at the historic Eames House on Comeau Drive in the center of Woodstock, the Historical Society has an extensive archive consisting of paintings, prints, drawings, sculpture, textiles, photographs, books, manuscripts, correspondence, documents, film/sound recordings, and antique tools. The archive serves as a resource for a wide range of exhibitions, public programming, and research.