Oysterponds Historical Celebrates 80th Year, 8.3rd + Auction of Art Works by Serra & Shapiro

Oysterponds Historical Society celebrates its 80th anniversary

with summer gala and auction

Art works by Richard Serra and Joel Shapiro will be auctioned

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Orient, NY – July 8, 2024. The Oysterponds Historical Society will hold its Summer Gala and Auction in Orient’s Poquatuck Park on Saturday, August 3, 2024 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The gala raises funds to support the OHS mission of celebrating the history and culture of Orient and East Marion. The live auction will feature an etching entitled “Bessie Smith,” by the world-renowned artist and long-time Orient resident, Richard Serra, who died in March. “We are honored to have a stunning work by Serra who valued Orient as a place to create,” said Catherine Chermayeff, OHS board member and auction chair. Oysterponds’s seaside beauty and quaint village life has long attracted many artists. The live auction will also include “Up Down Around (d),” a large, color lithograph/screen print by celebrated American artist, Joel Shapiro, a lifelong friend of Richard and Clara Serra and father of village resident, Ivy Shapiro. The silent auction will include works by more than 20 artists. Guests will also bid on experiences such as a getaway to the Ocean Club, a Four Seasons Resort, Bahamas or two tickets to a live show or dress rehearsal of Saturday Night Live.

Gala organizers are showcasing the bounty of the North Fork with decor such as brightly hued zinnias donated by Orient’s Latham Farms. Lombardi’s will serve seasonal food selections and there will be a raw bar of oysters and clams. Guests will sip signature cocktails, and wines from North Fork vineyards while enjoying the music of New York-based drummer, Matt Wilson, and his jazz quartet. Local bakers add a sweet finish with a decorative cookie table. Some 350 guests are expected. Their generous support will help ensure that the OHS continues to fulfill its mission for at least another 80 years.

Tickets are available at www.OysterpondsHistoricalSociety.org

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Oysterponds Historical Society (OHS)

Local residents created Oysterponds Historical Society (OHS) in 1944 in order to bring people together to share and celebrate the unique history and culture of the North Fork, Long Island hamlets of Orient and East Marion. By presenting shared experiences from the past, we connect our rich heritage to the present and pass it on to future generations.

Today, OHS maintains seven historically-significant buildings located in the heart of Orient, New York’s landmark historic district; cares for 8½ acres of grounds, including Poquatuck Park, a cherished community gathering spot; and actively manages a collection of over 60,000 items, including historic artifacts, documents, diaries, works of art, and archival objects dating from pre-colonial times all the way throughto the present.

OHS offers myriad compelling exhibitions of contemporary or historical significance, lectures, webinars, and other community events and activities open to the public, as well as resources for genealogical and archival research. Several OHS’s historic buildings are open to the public on a regular basis during the summer months: Village House is period-furnished with noteworthy pieces from the OHS collection and shown as a late 19th-century boarding house, demonstrating a significant chapter in its history. The 18th-century Webb House is also period-furnished and contains a permanent Maritime exhibition. The recently refurbished and repurposed 19th-century Red Barn boasts a brand-new, multi-media exhibition comprised of pictures, tools, equipment, and artifacts of farming and fishing as well as winter activities and early transportation. The objects on display are intended to evoke images of life in the Oysterponds community as the 19th century transitioned to the 20th.

For more information, please call (631) 323-2480 or visit www.OysterpondsHistoricalSociety.org.

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