Tag: paintings

FYI Friday: The Reference Room Mural

Throughout the Cold Spring Harbor Library stand the works of local artists, including paintings hanging on the walls and freestanding sculptures strategically placed to enhance the building’s beauty. But did you know that one wall of the reference room was sized specifically to fit the 10-foot mural that hangs on it?

Throughout the Cold Spring Harbor Library stand the works of local artists, including paintings hanging on the walls and freestanding sculptures strategically placed to enhance the building’s beauty. But did you know that one wall of the reference room was sized specifically to fit the 10-foot mural that hangs on it?

Reflections II: Lloyd Harbor View is a 10-foot oil painting depicting a view of the water and causeway in Lloyd Neck. It currently hangs on the wall of the Library’s reference room, directly opposite the entrance to the room from the lobby. Painted by local artist Pauline Gore Emmert in 1979 as part of her Master’s in Art thesis, Reflections II eventually came to the attention of then-CSH Library director Helen Crosson, who asked Emmert to loan the painting to the Library for its new building. In fact, Crosson actually “changed the shape of the reference room to accommodate this piece,” making the wall 140 inches to fit the mural’s 120-inch length. Originally on long-term loan to the Library, Reflections II was officially gifted to the Library in 2011.

reflections II
Reflections II – Photo © Kathy Kmonicek for The New York Times

Pauline Gore Emmert is a local artist who first took up painting at age 43 to fulfill her life’s dream, going back to school and achieving a Bachelor’s and Master’s with Honors in Art from C.W. Post. A second cousin to former Vice President Al Gore, Emmert has painted numerous scenes of the Lloyd Harbor area, including a depiction of “The Great Oak” of Lloyd Neck, which also hangs in the Library. In fact, Emmert was the first artist featured in the Library’s Gallery in the Round when it opened in 2011, displaying eight of her landscapes in this art show.

pauline gore emmert
Pauline Gore Emmert – Photo © Kathy Kmonicek for The New York Times

Sources
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/19/nyregion/19artsli.html?_r=0
http://www.cshlibrary.org/newsletter/issues/201101-newsletter.pdf
http://www.cshlibrary.org/fyi-friday-the-big-oak-of-lloyd-neck/

FYI Friday: The Big Oak of Lloyd Neck

If you’ve ever browsed the paintings on the walls of the Library, you may have noticed a watercolor print titled “The Great Oak,” created by Pauline G. Emmert and depicting a large, black oak tree local to Lloyd Neck. But did you know that this tree was approximately 550 years old when it was felled by Tropical Storm Ernesto in 2006?

If you’ve ever browsed the paintings on the walls of the Library, you may have noticed a watercolor print titled “The Great Oak,” created by Pauline G. Emmert and depicting a large, black oak tree local to Lloyd Neck. But did you know that this tree was approximately 550 years old when it was felled by Tropical Storm Ernesto in 2006?

Painting - Pauline Emmert
“The Great Oak,” by Pauline G. Emmert

“The Big Oak,” as it was commonly known, began its life before Columbus came to the New World and grew to the massive height of 90 feet, with its trunk reaching 36 feet in circumference and its branches spreading out to 150 feet. It lived through the birth of a nation – at which time it was already over 300 years old – and was a common tourist attraction even up to its last years, by which point its bulk was being supported with cables and pipes. The ancient oak was even listed on a national register of historic trees.

Following its demise, the Big Oak lived on in a variety of ways. Much of it was used to create a reading room and museum in the renovation of Lloyd Harbor Village Hall, and an 18-foot table residing there was made from branches that had previously fallen from the tree. Acorns shed by the tree during its final year were collected and put in cold storage for future planting attempts.

A slice of the Big Oak is on display at the Village Hall library.

Oak slice
©The Huntington Patch

 

Sources / Further Reading:

The New York Times, “Laid Low After 550 Years, a Giant Oak Tree Has a Big Future”
The Huntington Patch, “‘Big Oak’ Piece Unveiled at Lloyd Harbor Village Hall”