The Historic Woodstock Art Colony – Arthur A. Anderson Booksigning and Discussion

The Historical Society of Woodstock presents Arthur A. Anderson in conversation with art historian Bruce Weber discussing his collection of art from the historic Woodstock art colony, followed by a signing of the recently published book by SUNY Press, The Historic Woodstock Art Colony: The Arthur A. Anderson Collection, on Saturday, July 20, 2024 from 2 to 4 PM at 20 Comeau Drive in Woodstock, N.Y. Admission is free. Mr. Anderson will sign copies of the book, which is lavishly illustrated and includes essays by its eight authors.

Long before the famous music festival in 1969, Woodstock, New York was home to what is considered America’s first intentionally created, year-round arts colony—founded in 1902. Collecting the remarkable range of work produced there has been Arthur A. Anderson’s focus for three decades, resulting in the largest comprehensive assemblage of its type.

The artists represented in this collection reflect the diversity of those who came to Woodstock, including Birge Harrison, Konrad Cramer, George Bellows, Eugene Speicher, Peggy Bacon, Rolph Scarlett, and Yasuo Kuniyoshi, among many others.

Anderson recently donated his entire collection—some 1,500 objects by almost 200 artists—to the New York State Museum, and this book introduces to the public, for the first time, a sample of the highlights of this extraordinary collection, which represents a body of work that together shaped art and culture in New York and forms a history of national and international significance.