Bringing Art to Life

  Photo: Jon Reis

IN 1994, Kathy Durland Dewart sat with Connie Saltonstall and Mike May, Connie’s lawyer and friend, and together they attempted to shape an idea into a document that would be a clear, if not precise, guide for the formation of an arts foundation. Connie especially hoped her home and property, a place she found so inspiring, would become a retreat where artists and writers could live and work. Durland Dewart recalls, “Even then, just days after her diagnosis, Connie knew she was dying. It was important to her that she left us with her perception of this idea that would become her memorial. Shortly after this meeting, Vicky Romanoff and Gillian Pederson-Krag joined me as the founding members of the Saltonstall Foundation. And somehow we managed to do it. Connie’s dream, her vision, has become a remarkable living legacy.”

Today, the Constance Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts remains committed to supporting art at its source: the individual artist. Our focus is on contemporary New York artists and writers creating new works of art.

  Early Morning Road, 1983, by Connie Saltonstall

TO DATE, WE HAVE:

• Provided 155 artists and writers with fellowships at the Saltonstall Arts Colony
• Given $500,000 in grants to individual artists and writers of New York State
• Assisted local non-profit organizations with over $55,000 in funding for projects to bring the arts to our community

The results of Connie’s gift have been astounding and continue to multiply. Her 200-acres have seen the comings and goings of small artist communities with an extraordinary commitment to their work. Art has come to life: novels, poems, essays, paintings, photographs, sculpture and many artists have been profoundly influenced by the creative spirit that infuses this place.

As we begin our second decade, we strive to serve future generations of writers, painters, photographers and other creative artists. It is our hope that we will eventually be able to offer stipends to Summer Fellows at the Saltonstall Arts Colony. It is essential that artists be able to afford to come here. Our goal is to raise the funds necessary to make this possible. With this in mind, we have launched our Endowment Campaign.