Labor Day Landscape Art Exhibition Celebrates Beauty of the East End

A Portion of the Proceeds to Benefit The Nature Conservancy

East Hampton, NY — August 21, 2007 — Twelve artists have joined together to present a Labor Day Landscape Exhibition celebrating the beauty and diversity of Long Island’s East End. The show will be held at Ashawagh Hall, Springs on Friday, August 31st through Monday, September 3rd 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 1, 2007 from 5 pm to 8 pm.

“The artists in the exhibition share a passion for the landscape, and in recognition of the need to protect our natural resources and open spaces, a portion of all sales will go to The Nature Conservancy to assist them in their work” said photographer Tom Steele, organizer of the event.

The exhibition focuses on the East’s End dynamic landscape which includes ocean beaches, farmlands, dunes, bays, salt marshes, fresh and salt water wetlands, as well as coastal and maritime forests. In addition to this uniquely diverse landscape, the quality of light the East End is said to be magical - a wonderful combination for plein-air artists.

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 preserve nature and protect life.

“The Nature Conservancy is delighted to be a partner in this exhibition,” said Nancy Kelley, executive director of The Nature Conservancy on Long Island. “Artists like these help make significant contributions to conservation in that they raise the level of awareness of our magnificent landscapes. In addition, we are thrilled that our work has also helped protect some of the places from which they have drawn their inspiration.”

The Nature Conservancy has long been involved in protecting critical habitat including places like the Atlantic Double Dunes, Accabonac Harbor, the Montauk moorlands and grasslands, Napeague, Northwest Woods, Northwest Harbor, the Long Pond Greenbelt, Scallop Pond, North Sea, Quantuck Creek in Quogue, Western Flanders Bay, the eastern Pine Barrens and the remaining forested groundwater recharge areas of the South Fork.

In addition to preservation, the management and restoration of key ecological areas - forests, dunes, bays, harbors, and wetlands – is essential.

The twelve exhibiting artists are: Casey Chalem Anderson, Susan D’Alessio, Jim Gingerich, Aubrey Grainger, Alec Hirschfeld, Gail Kern, Gordon Matheson, Michele Margit, Eileen Dawn Skretch, Anne Seelbach, Ray Spahn and Tom Steele. The exhibition includes oil paintings, acrylics, pastels, watercolors and photography, including panoramic landscape photographs up to seven feet in width.

Award winning filmmaker Alec Hirschfeld, will be screening a rough-cut of scenes from his new project “Out Here In The Fields”. The screening will run continuously during the exhibition. “Out Here in the Fields” is a work-in-progress in conjuction with the Peconic Land Trust and Eastern Life Films. It portrays three stories of preservation: Quail Hill Farm, The Babinksi Farm and the Shellfisher Preserve.

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 or visit www.EastEndLandscapes.com.

For more information on The Nature Conservancy, please call (631) 329-7689 or visit www.nature.org/LongIsland

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.