#4Olana

Alex Simon, Director of Membership and Community Relations

Frederic Edwin Church? You’ve heard of him, right? American landscape painter, central figure in the Hudson River School. He was the creator of this masterpiece, Olana.

And so are you.

You restore the main building, preserve the collection, protect the viewshed, you foster educational programs and cultural opportunities. On behalf of the development team here at Olana, I’d like to thank you for your generosity.

How about another name? David Huntington? After Church’s daughter- in-law died in 1964, he was key to forming Olana Preservation Inc., and kicking off a campaign to save Olana from being auctioned. The group has evolved to now be called The Olana Partnership (TOP). Today, citizens from the Hudson Valley and around the world support Olana. TOP, a private not-for-profit works cooperatively with New York State to support the restoration, development and improvement of Olana State Historic Site.

In 2014, nearly 170,000 people visited Olana’s designed landscape, and more than 30,000 individuals took a house tour. 2015, with the exhibition of “River Crossings: Contemporary Art Comes Home,” in conjunction with the Thomas Cole National Historic Site (www.rivercrossings.org,) promises to be a banner year at Olana.

The critical resources you provide help to ensure that Olana is one of the most preserved, restored, vital, engaging and significant artistic homes and studios in the world. Your support in conjunction with the New York State Department of Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation, has given life to projects like, restoration of the main barn, the house environs project to restore the landscaped areas around the main house, opening views from the North Meadow, and offering myriad educational programs. You’ve restored the view from Crown Hill, which had been obscured by second growth and now provides spectacular vistas of Church’s Farm complex, the main house, Cosy Cottage and Mount Merino. Contributions from the community secure Olana as a vibrant cultural resource.

In April, I’d like to invite you to participate in our first ever Membership Drive, #4Olana. By joining or renewing your membership during the month, your contribution will be matched dollar-for-dollar by a generous donor who prefers to remain anonymous.

All members will receive free access to “River Crossings,” including an exclusive invitation to the exhibition opening on May 2nd, as well as free admission to the main house and landscape, and a 15% discount on all purchases in the Olana Museum Shop. In addition, your membership will provide resources that will help preserve, restore and interpret Olana.
Join the celebration this year! Visit olana.stgng.com/support or call (518) 828-1872, ext. 102.

I invite you to visit Olana as much as possible to see all of the restoration projects, explore “River Crossings,” participate in our educational programs, and experience a unique selection in the Olana Museum Shop. I can only imagine what our collective dedication will bring this spring. Please reach out to me anytime asimon@olana.org.