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Labor Day Landscape Art Exhibition Celebrates Beauty of Accabonac Harbor

A Portion of the Proceeds to Benefit The Nature Conservancy

East Hampton, NY—August 23, 2006—Twelve artists have joined together to present a Labor Day Landscape Exhibition celebrating the beauty of East Hampton’s  Accabonac Harbor.  The show will be held at Ashawagh Hall, Springs on Friday, September 1st through Monday, September 4th from 10am to 5pm daily.  A portion of the sales from the exhibit will be donated to The Nature Conservancy. The public is invited to attend the opening reception on Saturday, September 2nd from 5pm to 8pm. 
“The artists in the exhibition share a passion for the landscape, and in recognition of the need to protect Accabonac Harbor and the Peconic Estuary, a portion of all sales will go to The Nature Conservancy to assist them in their work towards protection of the estuary,” said photographer Tom Steele, organizer of the event.
This exhibition reflects a growing relationship and dependence between plein-air artists and conservation groups, but the subject matter for many plein-air artists is quickly disappearing as open space and sensitive ecosystems are encroached upon. The work of plein-air artists promotes awareness and an appreciation of the natural beauty and fragility of the landscape, and ties in to the mission of The Nature Conservancy to conserve, protect and restore our last great places.
 “The Nature Conservancy is delighted to be a partner in this exhibition,” said Nancy Kelley, executive director of The Nature Conservancy on Long Island. “We recognize the contribution to conservation that these artists make and we are thrilled that we have helped protect some of the places from which they have drawn their inspiration.”
The twelve exhibiting artists are: Tom Steele, Gordon Matheson, Susan Nash, Michele Margit, Jane Martin, Alec Hirschfeld, Abby Abrams, Terry Elkins, Dru Frederick, Eileen Dawn Skretch, Chandler Bigelow, and Elaine Grove.  The exhibition includes oil paintings, acrylics, watercolors, drawings, video stills and photography, including panoramic landscape photographs up to seven feet in width.  Accabonac Harbor, a short film by award winning filmmaker, Alec Hirschfeld, will be screened throughout the exhibition.
In 1993, the Peconic Estuary, of which Accabonac Harbor is a part, became the 20th estuary in the nation to receive the designation as an Estuary of National Significance by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Nature Conservancy has been working to restore and protect Accabonac Harbor since 1968, when a gift from one of the founders of the South Fork-Shelter Island Chapter, Frederic Lake, established the 29-acre Merrill Lake Sanctuary. Today, there are an additional 200 acres of protected lands, helping to ensure that Accabonac Harbor remains as one of the East End’s most beautiful and biologically-rich landscapes.
Ashawagh Hall is located at the corner of Springs Fireplace Road and Old Stone Highway in East Hampton. For more information about the artists or the exhibition call 631-987-7005.  For more information on The Nature Conservancy call 631-329-7689 or visit nature.org/LongIsland.