Duck Creek Debuts As a Community Arts Space
The barn at the historic Duck Creek Farm on the corner of Three Mile Harbor and Squaw Roads in Springs has been restored after an 18-month process and will open to the public on Saturday with an exhibit of artwork by Sydney Albertini. In 2013, as part of the Parrish Art Museum’s Road Show, Ms. Albertini created a sculptural installation at the barn, prior to its restoration.
The barn, which is owned by East Hampton Town, was used by the painter John Little, one of the farm’s prior owners, as a studio. The property was once part of a 130-acre tract along Three Mile Harbor that was a homestead for the Edwards family dating to 1795. Three generations of Edwardses lived there before Mr. Little purchased a seven-acre piece of the land, which included the original Edwards farmhouse, in 1948. The abstract painter was a close friend of Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner, who lived on Fireplace Road, not far from the site.
Mr. Little bought a 19th-century barn from the Gardiner family and had it moved to the property for his studio. Later, he installed a loft apartment to accommodate visiting friends such as the artists Robert Motherwell and Franz Kline.
Eventually, the Little family sold the property to the fashion designer Helmut Lang, and the town purchased it in 2006 using the community preservation fund.
Under a recent agreement, the site will be operated as a community arts center by a group of local residents, under the auspices of Peconic Historic Preservation, a nonprofit group headed by Robert Strada of Amagansett. The barn and its grounds will be available for exhibits and other community programming.
The studio at Duck Creek Farm is the first historic restoration program to be completed with oversight by a town property management committee established in 2014 by Councilman Peter Van Scoyoc. The group is also overseeing restoration plans for the former Boys and Girls Harbor camp on the west side of Three Mile Harbor and for the 11-acre property on Neck Path in Springs that contains the house and studios of James Brooks and Charlotte Park, two other artists that were Little’s contemporaries.
Ms. Albertini’s exhibit of paintings on paper and sculpture will be on view at Duck Creek Farm through July 30. An opening reception will be held on Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m. Parking for the Duck Creek site is available along Squaw Road.