Two exhibits focus on Orange County
Middletown Two exhibits focusing on Orange County will open at Orange County Community College on Friday, March 3. During an opening reception from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., music will be provided by the Chris Parker Trio. “Then and Now: A Black & White Photographic Essay of Orange County,” that was produced by the Orange County Citizens Foundation, will be on display in Orange Hall Gallery. The art show, “Orange County Vistas: Watercolors of Scenic Vistas and Historic Buildings by Mary Evelyn Whitehill,” will hang in Orange Hall Gallery Loft. The shows will be on view from Friday, March 3, to Sunday, April 2, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday to Wednesday, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and during events and performances in the Gallery and Orange Hall Theater. Land use at the turns of the 20th and 21st centuries is a strong theme of the photographic essay. Some highlights include a comparison of Memorial Day parades in Middletown in 1919 and 2005; Tuxedo’s train station; locations in the villages and towns of Monroe, Chester, and Warwick; comparisons of then and now of the Hawk’s Nest section of Route 97 in the Town of Deerpark; and the Newburgh waterfront in the late 19th century and the present. This exhibit was made possible, in part, with funds from Orange County Tourism, Orange Arts and the County of Orange and the law firm of Jacobowitz & Gubits. Although some of the works by Whitehill are ones that she has done over the years, for this show she has painted many new works of the vistas and historic buildings in Orange County. Working from direct observation of nature, she attempts to express the beauty she finds. Whitehill has a bachelor’s in art and art history from Wells College, and a master’s in library science from SUNY Albany. For twenty years, she was the research librarian in Newburgh Free Library. When she retired, she became a full-time artist. The exhibits and reception are offered free as Lyceum Events, presented by Cultural Affairs. For more information, call 341-4891, write to cultural@sunyorange.edu or visit www.sunyorange.edu/lyceum.