The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Whitemarsh Art Center to hold annual gala
WHITEMARSH » An exhibit of forged art at Delaware’s Winterthur Museum — Treasures on Trial: The Art and Science of Detecting Fakes — intrigued hundreds of area viewers before it finished its nine-month run in January. Phonies purportedly painted by celebrated artists like Vincent van Gogh and Mark Rothko were part of the show, as were lectures detailing how the counterfeits had hoodwinked more than one expert before being exposed as bogus.
Such trickery won’t be an issue at the Whitemarsh Art Center’s May 19 gala at Hope Lodge. WAC’s leaders guarantee that every piece of art being readied for raffle or auction at the historic Fort Washington venue has been thoroughly vetted and is totally original. The event is scheduled for 4 to 6 p.m. and will feature wine and cheese, music by guitarist Baird Standish and tours of the 18th century property on Bethlehem Pike — the scene of an encampment by Continental troops during the American Revolution’s 1777 Philadelphia Campaign.
Several gift baskets — packed with wine, spirits, assorted gift certificates and, in one case, art supplies and a WAC painting class voucher — will be raffled, and paintings by area artists Stefanie Lieberman and Sara Steele will be up for grabs during a silent auction.
The gala’s centerpiece giveaway is referenced in its “100 for 100” theme, a nod to its two-tier ticket structure. A $100 ticket admits two and entitles the bearer to take home one of 100 pieces of original art. A $25 ticket includes everything but dibs on the art.
“Each $100 ticket … has a stub with a number that is tossed into a basket and randomly pulled, allowing that ticket-holder to choose an original piece of art, like the paper porcelain work of internationally acclaimed artist Jerry Bennett,” says WAC Executive Director Corinne Dieterle. “The person with the first number drawn will have his or her choice of 100 pieces of art … right on down the line, with the last person having no choice, but, given the quality of the work that will be available, having the opportunity to acquire a beautiful piece of original art
8 of 10 voters stayed away from the polls
Pennsylvania held its primary elections on Tuesday, but judging from voter turnout, few people noticed.
by an accomplished artist.”
WAC — previously called the Whitemarsh Community Art Center — is rooted in a grassroots effort led by local resident Dena Sher in the early 1960s and began as a few township-sponsored classes in the former Lafayette Consolidated School (now the site of the Whitemarsh municipal complex on Germantown Pike) in 1964. Those initial classes eventually moved to space at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School before setting up headquarters in the farmhouse and barn WAC still occupies in Whitemarsh Township’s Cedar Grove Park. The nonprofit center’s roster has also evolved over the years, and the group is known for its wide-ranging children’s and adult classes, a well-established ceramics program, BYOB painting parties, summer art camp and multiple special events.
Among the latter, its recent fifth annual Plein Air Paint-Out. The yearly competition is open to artists who are 18 and older and takes its open air format from the mid-19th century style of painting completed outside, rather than indoors. This year’s participants were invited to set up their easels anywhere in Whitemarsh Township or Conshohocken Borough, Maple Acres Farm in Plymouth Meeting and the Morris Arboretum in Chestnut Hill from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Entries then had to be delivered to WAC headquarters by 5 p.m. for judging by professional artist and plein air specialist Valerie Craig.
Plein Air 2018’s winners — announced at an evening reception at WAC — were Cynthia Rosen (first prize), Eileen McDonnell (second prize), Stefanie Lieberman (third prize), Randall Graham (Whitemarsh Township Award), Sarah Baptist (Borough of Conshohocken Award) and Jeanne Brunneau (honorable mention).
Tickets for WAC’s May 19 gala at Hope Lodge may be purchased online at whitemarsharts.org or at the door.
Additional information about WAC programs — including its annual Art in the Park on June 9 from noon to 3 p.m. — is available at 610-825-0917.