READING THE LEAVES
LIFELONG PATRON OF THE ARTS AGNES GUND IS BEING FÊTED AT THE PARRISH ART MUSEUM’S MIDSUMMER PARTY THIS WEEKEND.
With a new tea shop, Harbor Books and Dobrá Tea bring good fortune to thirsty bibliophiles.
Smack in the middle of Sag Harbor’s beloved Harbor Books is a perfect little “tea-osk,” as the owner, Taylor Rose Berry, calls it. Since opening the bookstore in 2014, she longed to make it a village focal point, where people could convene and stay for a while. Then she had a beverage brainstorm.
“There are so many places in town to get coffee,” Berry says, “and not a single traditional tearoom anywhere close. The culture and ceremony of tea—true tea—is special, a perfect element to incorporate into Harbor Books.” When Berry discovered the Dobrá teahouse chain, which embraces the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi, i.e., finding beauty in imperfections, she knew she’d found her key ethos.
For the speedy 14-day buildout, Berry recruited her husband and friends— and you can feel the love in the results. With a vintage card catalogue and a reclaimed-wood bar, the tea-osk looks as though it had always been there. A recent visit revealed a line for tea, two tastings in the works, and seating areas packed with bubble-tea sippers sharing space with the store’s mascot cat.
“The total experience should feel like a haven to our readers and tea drinkers alike,” Berry says. Yes, the tea is important, but so are “the feelings that tea and books conjure for all of us.” 20 Main St., Sag Harbor, 631-808-3401; harborbookssgh.com
WITH A NEW TEA SHOP, HARBOR BOO S AND DOBRÁ TEA BRING GOOD FORTUNE TO THIRSTY BIBLIOPHILES. BY JESSICA SOFFER clockwise from left: Served exclusively at Harbor Books’ Dobrá tea-osk, yin zhen (aka silver needles) tea is hand-picked and -processed in China’s Hunan province; Harbor Books on Main Street; inside, salvaged “H B” lettering, an antique mermaid, Derceto, and the Literary Favorites counter serve as the hub of the store.
The Parrish Art Museum is honoring world-renowned visual arts education advocate, art patron, and philanthropist Agnes Gund, along with celebrated artist Clifford Ross, at its annual midsummer party on July 15. Agnes founded Studio in a School in 1977, a nonprofit that has brought visual arts education to nearly one million NYC school children, and continues to serve over 30,000 children a year. In June, she donated $100 million to “Art for Justice,” an innovative new fund that enables art collectors to use art for criminal justice reform.
Hamptons spoke with Gund about her decadeslong friendship with Roy and Dorothy Lichtenstein, the recent sale of her prized Lichtenstein painting Masterpiece for a record $165 million, and the power of art to change lives.
Were you sad to part with
Masterpiece?
My friend Eugene Thaw, a wonderful collector, said to me, “You’ve lived with it and enjoyed it [since 1976], now you should feel free to give it.” I don’t have that much time left in my life, and I wanted to make an impact. I hope that the creation of the Art for Justice fund will point to the many things we need to change in the justice system, especially mass incarceration. You’ve also been a collector of Clifford Ross’s work. I’ve seen Clifford’s art from the beginning. He’s created a whole new way of photographing and I really think his work is very interesting. I gave his “Hurricanes” series to my kids. You were a founding partner of the Parrish 2012 Capital campaign. Have you been pleased with the exhibitions? Any shows in particular you’ve admired? The Alice Aycock show was wonderful. The more I see women getting attention, the happier I am, because I think we have been flagrantly bad in acknowledging women artists. I’m glad to see that change. Who are some of your favorite female artists? I think Julie Mehretu is fantastic. Also Cindy Sherman.
Arts collector and advocate Agnes Gund, photographed by Annie Leibovitz.