Plein Air Peconic

The 2006 Plein Air Peconic was the first full-scale art exhibition to feature paintings and photographs that included many sites conserved in partnership with the Peconic Land Trust. "Plein air" painters and landscape photographers worked in the field during August and September of 2006 to create Plein Air Peconic, a project which takes one step further the ongoing collaboration between local artists and the Peconic Land Trust. Since then, the eleven artists of Plein Air Peconic have presented an annual exhibition of their works at a local gallery on the North and South Forks.  Sites have included the Wallace Gallery in East Hampton, the Grenning Gallery in Sag Harbor and South Street Gallery in Greenport.

On Exhibition: 

Plein Air Peconic is on view at Dodds and Eder, Bridge Street, Sag Harbor, April through October 2013. Please join us for a reception at Dodds and Eder on Saturday, May 18, 5:30-7:30pm. A portion of proceeds of sales from the show are donated to the Trust by the artists in support of conservation on Long Island. 

Gift Giving!!! The Peconic Land Trust has two series of Plein Air Peconic notecards -- Wetland and Farmscapes -- for sale. For more information, and to purchase, call us at 631.283.3195 . The notecards, in 12-pack sets, make a great gift.

Check Connections and our online calendar for dates, times, and locations for all Plein Air Peconic exhibitions in the 2013 calendar year!

The History
The idea for this unusual exhibition came from talks in 2005 between local artist Gordon Matheson and Peconic Land Trust Vice President Rebecca Chapman, about developing important connections between the Trust and local artists. The Trust cleared the way for artists to spend considerable time in the preserves, painting, photographing and often just observing nature. Southampton Village was also generous in allowing the artists to park in reserved areas at Dune Beach, a preserve with bayfront, oceanfront, and beautiful dunes located in Southampton Village.

The artists participating in the program include: Casey Chalem Anderson, Susan D’Alessio, Aubrey Grainger, Gail Kern, Anita Kusick, Michele Margit, Gordon Matheson, Joanne Rosko, Eileen Dawn Skretch, Tom Steele, Kathryn Szoka, and Ellen Watson. Click here for bios and contact information (PDF) on each of the artists. To learn more about Plein Air Peconic and the artists, visit their new website at www.PleinAirPeconic.com

The inaugural exhibition in 2006 was Columbus Day Weekend at Ashawagh Hall in the Springs, a hamlet within the Town of East Hampton. After the four-day exhibition in the Springs, Plein Air Peconic became a traveling exhibition for the Trust where it continues to be displayed in locations throughout Long Island and New York City to highlight the land conservation efforts of the Trust.