Although closed for the season, the Storm King Art Center is open to members for a series of Winter Walks. The Storm King Art Center is situated on 500 acres overlooking the Hudson Valley, and more than 100 works of modern and contemporary art are thoughtfully scattered throughout. Memberships begin at $35, and include a variety of other privileges, in addition to supporting a unique art venue.
The Storm King Art Center, established in 1960, considers how a sculpture will interact with the landscape and the Hudson Highlands when acquisition is considered. It’s a public, nonprofit educational organization, and funding for its operation comes from a combination of corporate and private donations, foundation and government grants, admission fees and proceeds from the museum shop. Much of its property was once farmland, and in 1997 a long-term project was begun with the goal of restoring native long grasses and wildflowers to the land.

Director and Curator David Collins said that the Winter Walks have been offered for about ten years now. He credits trustee Lisa Stern with the idea. “People like to see [Storm King] without the leaves on the trees, and a stark background.” According to Collins, the walks attract upwards of 80 people, and walkers are divided up into several groups, taking different paths across the grounds. Last year’s February group was described by Collins as, “hearty,” enduring sleet and bonechilling temperatures, yet the number who came for that month’s walk was close to 75.

Sculptures are selected in part because of their durability. One factor is, “that a sculpture is sturdy and made out of materials that will withstand our weather in the Hudson Valley,” said Collins. Longevity is a consideration since, as Collins pointed out, “we are building a museum…” Originally conceived of as a traditional indoor gallery, one of Storm King Art Center’s founders, Ralph E. Ogden, was inspired by a trip to Austria, where he visited a marble quarry, to add outdoor work to the site. Later, after viewing sculptor David Smith’s work on display outside the artist’s home, Ogden and H. Peter Stern purchased 13 pieces from Smith’s estate, and the emphasis shifted to acquiring large-scale, outdoor pieces. A museum building on the grounds, originally a private residence, contains nine exhibition galleries, a museum shop, and offices.

Membership has been holding its own in these tough economic times where many art centers and groups have been seeing a drop. In fact, according to Collins, membership is up. Storm King Art Center will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2010, and a full roster of events is in the late planning stages now. “We’re going to have a good cross section of programming,” said Collins, including musical performances, talks and much more to be announced. For the latest, go to Storm King Art Center’s Web site, http://stormking.org.

To become a member, sign up online or call 534-3115. Membership starts at $35, and includes unlimited free admission to Storm King Art Center, their seasonal newsletter, invitations to members only events such as the Winter Walks, and a 10% discount on the purchase of items from the museum shop. The next Winter Walks are scheduled for February 6 and March 6, from 2 to 4 p.m.

By Cheryl A. Rice
crice@tcnewspapers.com