ELIZABETH PARKER: LIBRARY PAINTINGS
May 11 - 26, 2019
Reception: Saturday, May 11, 5-7pm
Open: Friday - Sunday 12-5pm
and by appointment

The Arts Center at Duck Creek is pleased to announce its first exhibition of the 2019 season, Elizabeth Parker: Library Paintings, opening May 11, 5-7 p.m. and on view through Sunday May 26. The exhibition will be open to the public Friday - Sunday, 12-5 p.m.

Elizabeth Ashton Parker Anderson (1893-1975), professionally known as Elizabeth Parker, was an accomplished painter and advocate for the arts, living and working in Springs in the 1950s. Library Paintings is a selection of works recently recovered from the attic of the Springs Library. Parker donated these objects to the Town of East Hampton, along with her home, the 168-year-old Ambrose Parsons House on Old Stone Highway. The house has served the community ever since.

Elizabeth Parker exhibited her work widely during her lifetime, both locally and abroad. She attended Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, the Art Students League in New York City, and studied under Hans Hoffman in Provincetown, Massachusetts. She designed sets and costumes for the New York Theater Guild and served as President of the Springs Improvement Society, in addition to being a long term member of the Art Committee of Ashawagh Hall. Her work is in the collections of both Guild Hall and The Parrish Art Museum.

In 1957, John Little, whose beautifully restored barn/studio houses this exhibition, solicited Parker along with Alfonso Ossorio to open the first commercial gallery in East Hampton. Signa Gallery, then located at 53 Main Street (where Firestone Gallery now resides), operated for three years, displaying works by well-known locals like Willem de Kooning and Franz Kline, but also artists such as Agnes Martin and Philip Guston. In response to Parker’s work, John Little writes “This work is characterized by opposing vibrant color, the form being synonymous with color, form growing out of the color with a totality of light.”

On the occasion of Parker’s Memorial Exhibition in 1976, artist Alfonso Ossorio reflects; “Elizabeth Parker devoted her life to her art and to a constructive involvement with other people. Especially those in her chosen field of work. Quietly, unobtrusively, undemandingly, she persevered in developing her painting into a body of work filled with gaiety and a sense of the contrasts, calms and tensions of life. She was singularly modest about what she created, so much so that even her friends may well be surprised and delighted with the variety and richness of this exhibition. And for this joyful accomplishment we thank her.”

The Arts Center at Duck Creek develops and operates programming at the East Hampton Town-owned historic Duck Creek Farm for the benefit of the local community. Our mission is to honor the spirit of artist John Little, whose 19th century barn/studio was a meeting place for artists in the ‘50s and beyond. The Arts Center at Duck Creek, Inc. is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation licensed by the Town of East Hampton.

“It is fitting that the Arts Center at Duck Creek chose to exhibit Elizabeth Parker’s “library” paintings as the organization's first public exhibit as licensee of the John Little barn. The property is the perfect location to honor the contributions of Springs residents, such as Parker, to art, and is a beautiful setting for our residents and visitors to experience community events,” said East Hampton Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc. “I am proud to have been involved with the barn’s restoration and development of the Town’s partnership with the Arts Center at Duck Creek for the benefit of the community.”

All our events are free and open to the public. Programming at the Arts Center at Duck Creek, Inc. is made possible through the generous support of The Willem de Kooning Foundation, New York, and the HILO Foundation, New York, as well as donations from community members like you!

For additional information, please contact duckcreekarts@gmail.com