Huntington, NY –   Stimulating conversation, warm camaraderie, and art making with painted tiles brought a lively group of artists, writers, and musicians together as The Tile Club. The members embarked on excursions – three to Long Island – for fun and art making.  The Heckscher Museum of Art brings to life the stories and artwork of renowned Tile Club artists such as Winslow Homer, William Merritt Chase, and Augustus Saint-Gaudens in the exhibition, The Tile Club: Camaraderie and American Plein-Air Painting. On view August 4 to November 4, 2018.

The Tile Club exhibition is an intimate installation of travel sketches, painted tiles, sculpture, and prints exploring this spirited bohemian artists’ group.  The Tile Club met once a week in New York City to paint, socialize, and listen to live music.  They traveled as a group across Long Island to Captree Island, Port Jefferson, East Hampton, and Montauk with stops along the way. Their antics were even published in popular magazines of the day.

The Tile Club – most active between 1877 and 1887 -- was one of many artist societies that animated art life in America in the late 19th century.   Tile Club meetings were known for their witty conversation and art experimentation. In several summer sketching trips, Tile Club artists created plein air works of picturesque subjects, embracing the concept of working outdoors that was then transforming artistic practice in Europe.  

Of the 52 pieces on view, the exhibition includes 29 works from The Heckscher Museum of Art’s Baker/Pisano Collection, which was gifted to the Museum by Fred Baker and his partner Ron Pisano. Pisano was an expert on the work of renowned American artist William Merritt Chase, and a scholar on 19th and 20th Century Long Island art.  He was a Heckscher Museum curator, Director of the Parrish Art Museum, and author of numerous books, including The Tile Club (1999.)  “This is a wonderful opportunity to highlight the richness of our Permanent Collection, and the intimate relationship between The Tile Club and Long Island,” said Lisa Chalif, Curator, Heckscher Museum of Art. “The Tile Club is an important touchstone in art history and greatly influenced the plein air movement in America.”

This exhibition has been organized by the Chazen Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin-Madison, in cooperation with The Heckscher Museum of Art, Huntington, NY.

Image Details: Winslow Homer, Resting Shepherdess. 1877. Painted and glazed ceramic tile. 8 x 16 in. The Heckscher Museum of Art. Partial Gift of Karen H. Bechtel in memory of Ronald G. Pisano and Partial Museum Purchase with funds from the Acquisition Fund, the Eva Gatling Fund, and the Baker/Pisano Fund.
Also on View

Long Island Biennial 2018

August 4 to November 11, 2018

Long Island Biennial is a juried exhibition offering professional artists from Suffolk and Nassau Counties an opportunity to share their work to a broad public in a professional Museum setting. Long Island has a rich artistic history and has long been an inspiration for artists. This year’s distinguished jurors are Christine Berry, Berry Campbell Gallery, New York; Robert Carter, Professor of Art, Nassau Community College, State University of New York; and Bobbi Coller, Independent Art Historian and Curator.

Surface Tension: Pictorial Space in 20th-Century Art

Through May 5, 2019

Since the beginning of the 20th century, artistic handling of the picture plane has shifted dramatically.  Surface Tension: Pictorial Space in 20th-Century Art traces this transformation from early modernist works influenced by Cubism through the age of Abstract Expressionism and beyond.  Featured artists include Ilya Bolotowsky, Esphyr Slobodkina, and Elaine de Kooning.

About The Heckscher Museum of Art

The Heckscher Museum of Art is located in scenic Heckscher Park in Huntington, within walking distance of shops and award-winning restaurants.  The Museum provides a dynamic schedule of changing exhibitions on American art, inspiring education experiences for students and an exciting series of public programs for all ages.

The Heckscher Museum of Art was founded in 1920 by philanthropist August Heckscher, and is listed on the National  Register of Historic Places.   The Museum’s Permanent Collection comprises more than 2,500 works from the 16th to the 21st century, including European and American painting, sculpture, works on paper, and photography. For more information, visit Heckscher.org.

Museum Hours

Wednesday - Friday | 10:00 am - 5:00 pm *

Saturday and Sunday | 11:00 am - 5:00 pm *

Monday and Tuesday | Closed

*Huntington Township Residents admitted FREE Wednesdays after 2:00 pm and Saturdays before 1:00pm.  Proof of residency required. Free Admission for Active Military Personnel, Veterans, and

Family