Upcoming Events, Exhibitions & Programs at Heckscher Museum of Art

Image above: Alonzo Chappel, Drafting the Declaration of Independence, n.d. Heckscher Museum of Art; August Heckscher Collection.

COMMUNITY EVENTS 

The Heckscher Museum’s 95^th Anniversary Celebration

Friday, July 10 – Sunday, July 12

Free Admission all weekend

Take a selfie with an anniversary frame and other fun props at the Selfie Station; experience Digital Action Painting on a 55-inch touchscreen; help “frost” a collaborative anniversary cake artwork; and enjoy a sweet treat provided by Baked by Melissa. View David Haliski’s LEGO® sculpture of the Museum.

Saturday, July 11

1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Meet and build along with LEGO^® Artist David Haliski

Sunday, July 12

1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Have your caricature made by Artist Marty Macaluso

In keeping with August Heckscher’s philanthropic nature, the Museum is pleased to partner with Long Island Cares, Inc. – The Harry Chapin Food Bank. Bring non-perishable people and pet food to support our community members in need.

95^th Anniversary Celebration is sponsored in part by Astoria Bank. 

 

PROGRAMS 

SENIOR SECOND WEDNESDAY

1:30 pm – 5:00 pm | Programs begin at 1:45 pm

Members and Seniors (62+) Free Museum Admission

General Public Half-Price Museum Admission

Groups welcome

Midday Music & Letters from the Front Lines Series

Wednesday, July 8

Surrounded by the captivating and powerful imagery of the Museum’s Power, Politics & War exhibition, flutist Michelle LaPorte and guitarist Gerry Saulter will read war letters written by American heroes and perform music reflective of the humanity shared within these poignant letters.

 

FIRST FRIDAY

A Musical Portrait of James D’Aquisto Guitars

Peter Rogine, Jazz Guitar

Friday, August 7

5:00 pm – 8:30 pm | Performance 7:00 pm

Free Museum Admission

From his early days in Huntington to his “golden period” in Greenport, James D’Aquisto became known as the world’s greatest archtop guitar maker from the late 1960s until his passing in 1995. Honoring the D’Aquisto legacy, his guitars were featured in the 2011 Guitar Heroes exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Peter Rogine, renowned guitarist and Five Towns College professor, will discuss the life and work of this innovative guitar builder and perform jazz classics on D’Aquisto instruments. Several historical D’Aquisto guitars will be on view for the evening. 

Exploring Art… Making Memories

Monday, August 31

2:00 pm – 3:30 pm

Members $8, Non-Members $10, Care Partners Free

With the understanding that artistic experiences stimulate new pathways of learning, expression, and memories, the Museum is offering a unique program for individuals living with dementia and their care partners. Specially trained professionals will lead an interactive tour of select works and encourage group discussion. Light refreshments will be served. Registration is required. Space is limited.

Sharing the Pride

Blue Star Museums Program

The Museum is proud to offer free admission to active military personnel, veterans, and family throughout the year.  In addition, the Museum is pleased to participate in the Blue Star Museums program which is a collaboration among the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense, and more than 2,000 museums across America, to offer free Museum admission to the nation’s active-duty military personnel and their families, including National Guard and Reserve, through Labor Day, September 7. 

EXHIBITIONS AT THE HECKSCHER MUSEUM OF ART 

Before Selfies:  Portraiture through the Ages

Through August 9

Before Selfies features over four dozen works that present various approaches to conveying a sitter’s likeness.  Self-portraits and images of fellow artists, family, and friends are included, as well as portraits of public figures, unidentified sitters, and character types.  Changing concepts of beauty, diverse approaches to male and female subjects, and modern life are ancillary themes.  Works by Thomas Anshutz, William Merritt Chase, Edward Curtis, Thomas Eakins, Red Grooms, Henri Matisse, William Sidney Mount, Fairfield Porter, and many others are represented. 

Be part of the exhibition! Museum guests are invited to visit the Museum’s unique Selfie Station to create their own portraits inspired by the featured exhibitions and to share their photos on Instagram including #hmaselfie and #heckschermuseum. 

Before Selfies and Poised Poses are sponsored in part by Astoria Bank 

Poised Poses: Portraits from the August Heckscher Collection

Through August 2

Like many turn-of-the-20th-century private collections in America, August Heckscher’s collection was particularly strong in historical European portraiture. This installation features works from the Museum’s core collection, donated by August Heckscher in 1920, installed to evoke the ambience of a well-to-do residence in the late 19th or early 20th century. Highlights include captivating works by Sir William Beechey, George Romney, and Antoine Vollon, as well as exquisite portraits by Nicholas de Largillierre, Sir Henry Raeburn, and Franz Wolfgang Rohrich. 

Power, Politics & War: Selections from the Permanent Collection

Through August 2

To highlight the significance of George Grosz’s Eclipse of the Sun as a critique of the corrupt Weimar government in 1920s Berlin, this exhibition places the painting in the context of other works from the Permanent Collection that depict themes of power, politics, and military aggression.  Featured works include paintings about the American Revolution and the birth of America by Alonzo Chappel, the Franco-Prussian War by Etienne Berne-Bellecour, and photographs from World War II by the Russian photographer Mark Markov-Grinberg.  This close look at Eclipse of the Sun is occasioned by its inclusion in the upcoming exhibition New Objectivity: Modern German Art during the Weimar Republic, 1919-1933, to be held at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in late 2015. 

Graphic Appeal: Modern Prints from the Collection

August 15 – November 29

The 20th century witnessed an explosion in printmaking as new processes were developed, print studios became established, and artists responded to the visual appeal of graphic design.  This Permanent Collection exhibition features a selection of landscape, figurative, and abstract work produced using a wide range of traditional and modern processes.  Featured artists include Romare Bearden, John Steuart Curry, Stuart Davis, Red Grooms, Risaburo Kimura, Robert Kipniss, Roy Lichtenstein, Henry Moore, Claes Oldenburg, Robert Rauschenberg, Emilio Sanchez, Tom Wesselman, and many others.

Graphic Appeal is sponsored in part by Suffolk County.

James Rosenquist: Tripartite Prints

August 15 – November 22

In the 1970s, James Rosenquist created a series of large lithographs that are characterized by their horizontal, tripartite compositions.  Constructed of fragmented and juxtaposed images depicting various brightly colored icons, including tire tracks, stairs, nails, stars, orbits, and the American flag, these prints reference many of Rosenquist’s persistent themes—communication, space exploration, his 1971 car crash—conveying complex messages about our culture, science and technology, and the artist’s social and political concerns.

James Rosenquist: Tripartite Prints is sponsored in part by Suffolk County.

Street Life: Private Moments/Public Record

Opens August 15

The urban experience is an ever-changing tableau of daily activity.  For young and old, work, relaxation, and play unfold on the city streets, revealing an anonymous humanity engaged in endeavors familiar to all.  Selected from the Museum’s Permanent Collection, this exhibition is a portrait of New York City—its work-a-day life, shopping avenues, and iconic transportation system.  Featured artists include Berenice Abbott, N. Jay Jaffee, Martin Lewis, John Sloan, Garry Winogrand, and others. 

Editor’s Note:

The Heckscher Museum of Art, founded in 1920 by August Heckscher, serves the people of the Town of Huntington and surrounding communities. Through exhibitions of its permanent and loan collections of art and related programs, the Museum seeks to provide inspiring and transformative educational experiences to encourage a broader understanding of our past and present to enrich

the quality of life of the individuals it serves. The Museum’s Permanent Collection contains more than 2,500 works from 16^th– to 21^st-century European and American painting, sculpture, works on paper, and photography. For information about The Heckscher Museum of Art, visit www.heckscher.org. 

Museum Hours

Wednesday – Friday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm

Saturday and Sunday 11:00 am – 5:00 pm

First Friday FREE Museum Admission

5:00 pm – 8:30 pm Extended Viewing Hours

7:00 pm Performance

Huntington Township Residents admitted FREE Wednesday after 2:00 pm and Saturday before 1:00 pm.  Proof of residency required. 

Free Museum Admission for Active Military Personnel and Veterans
Available to any bearer of a Geneva Convention Common Access Card (CAC), a DD Form 1173, a DD Form 1173-1, a Veteran’s DD-214, or a Veteran ID card and a driver’s license.  Includes active duty, National Guard, and Reserve military personnel and their families.

Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) since 1972.