In a way, it all started with the railroad. In one way there were many forces to be reckoned with to make the East End of Long Island—known as the Hamptons, or “out East” to the locals—a world-renowned art destination, but women were important. In a changing society, women had choices and mobility that they never had before; many turned to art.
In 1870, the Long Island Railroad operated a line that extended service from New York all the way east to the farming and seaside towns of Bridgehampton and Sag Harbor. In 1884, Mary and Thomas Moran were among the first artists to set up easels in East Hampton. Others followed. The pristine landscape with wide, flat fields of endless blue sky surrounded by waterways creates the kind of light that inspired the Dutch masters.
“It’s a natural beauty force out here. It tends to get people to notice it and work with it,” April Gornik, a contemporary artist and one of the women keeping the Hamptons art scene vibrant, told the Observer. Light, but light comes from the fact that it is the only island jutting into the Atlantic. And then the way everything is spread.
After living and working in the East for nearly 40 years, Gornik and her husband, artist Eric Fischl, founded The Church, a multidisciplinary nonprofit art space in Sag Harbor. Her childcare work deepened her sense of the history of women artists in the area, from contemporaries such as Vija Celmins, Cindy Sherman and Nanette Carter to historical figures such as Moran, Evelina Mount and Annie Cooper Boyd. In the Church’s current exhibit, “This Country: Reflecting on the American Landscape,” he noted, “There’s a text by Mary Nimmo Moran that’s just—it sucks.
With easy access, many artists traveled from New York. In 1891, the Shinnecock Hills Summer School of Art was founded by Janet Ralston Chase Hoyt, a philanthropist and artist who summered in Southampton. He knew that William Merritt Chase wanted to bring a new type of American art, and Hoyt chose him to establish the first school of plein air painting in the country. A respected teacher, Chase said “I don’t see gender in art,” and welcomed female students and faculty. The Shinnecock Summer School of Art was key to the founding of American Impressionism, itself notable for its number of outstanding female artists.
Artists gravitated to other artists, so the creative community continued to grow. In 1931, Mary Woodhouse donated land and funds to found Guild Hall, an arts center in East Hampton with a theater and museum. In 1949, their “17 Artists of Eastern Long Island” debate presented the works of Lee Krasner, Jackson Pollock and other Abstract Expressionists, heralding a new cultural shift.
The concept of affordable housing and the Hamptons don’t go together now, but in the 1950s and ’60s, New York office workers, firefighters and police officers could afford summer homes and bungalows out East. Once Krasner and Pollock settled in, Lee encouraged other artists to look for venues. Before long, Abstract Expressionism had two addresses—downtown Manhattan and the Hamptons.
Elaine De Kooning, Helen Frankenthaler, Grace Hartigan, Perle Fine, Mercedes Matter and Joan Mitchell all called the Hamptons home at one time or another. (Fun fact: Joan Mitchell played in the first East Hampton Artists & Writers softball game in 1948 along with teammates Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning and Franz Kline.)
“It was affordable at the time,” Christina Mossaides Strassfield, executive director of the Southampton Arts Center told the Observer. “Even if there was no heat, it was a good opportunity.”
Strassfield, himself, has been shaping the Hamptons art scene since 1987 when he started as associate curator and librarian at the Guild Hall museum. After rising to museum director, he moved to Southampton Arts Center as executive director in 2023.
Although the level of work has always been very high for her, in her years in the Hamptons she has conquered so many female artists that the Guerrilla Girls took notice when they toured. “They looked at a lot of institutions on Long Island, and we got an A+ because we did a lot of one-woman shows. I was very proud of that,” Strassfield recalled. The list ranges from artists of the post-war era such as Connie Fox, Jane Wilson, Jane Freilicher, Audrey Flack and Miriam Schapiro to a younger generation including Gornik, Barbara Kruger, Pat Steir and Laurie Anderson.
Strassfield also highlighted the importance of women in developing exhibitions, back in the days of the Abstract Expressionists. “They used to meet at the beach every day after painting, they would have a break and then they would all meet, men and women, and talk about art,” he said. The annual artist-run show at East Hampton’s Ashawagh Hall played a major role. “Many women, especially Elaine de Kooning, were active in organizing the ‘Springs Invitational’ and included artists, their spouses and themselves, in exploring and organizing these exhibitions.”
He added, “John Little’s wife, Josephine Little, was an artist and she actually ran the Signal Gallery, which was one of the first art galleries in the Hamptons… When I came out, 187 years ago, Arlene Bujese was one of the main galleries. Ruth Vered was the main gallery artist and Elaine Benson. Those were the three mainstays of the Hamptons.”
On Long Island right now, every art museum has women as directors. That’s a big step. The Parrish Art Museum in
Although Gornik expressed discomfort with the term “woman artist” and Strassfield insisted, “If it’s done by a woman but it’s not good art, it’s not good to show,” both agreed that they’re trying to uplift women artists. “It’s like having a reason, like being part of the opposition, when you’re always like trying to strengthen other people on your team,” said Gornik. “There is a great deal of wisdom that encourages women as we try to stop this entrenched prejudice.”
Strassfield emphasized, “You have to show good art whether it’s done by a woman or a man,” adding, “I believe at some point we won’t think about this anymore.”
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