NYSCA Grant Made to Southold Historical!

A View of Montauk Lighthouse by Lemuel Wiles (Society's Collection).

SOUTHOLD, AUGUST 23, 2005.  The Southold Historical Society is pleased to announce that it has received a prestigious New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) Museum Program Exhibition Grant.  The New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) is dedicated to preserving and expanding the rich and diverse cultural resources that are and will become the heritage of New York's citizens. The grant awarded to the Southold Historical Society will help partially fund an exhibition of the works of noted Peconic School painter Lemuel Maynard Wiles (1826-1905).

Lemuel Wiles was born in New York State and trained with William S. Hart and Jasper F. Cropsey. During the 1860’s he had a studio in New York City and by the mid 1870’s had returned to upstate New York where he taught at Ingham University and founded the Silver Lake Art School. In the 1890’s he came to teach on Long Island with his son, noted portrait painter Irving Ramsey Wiles.

"The Society felt this project was important for a number of reasons," stated Geoffrey K. Fleming, the Society's Director.  "One, there has never been an organized exhibit of any size devoted to the works of Lemuel Wiles. And two, Wiles’s connection to the Peconic School of Painters on Long Island’s North Fork has, until recently, been largely forgotten.  This exhibition proposes to rectify both these issues," he continued.

The exhibition will take place from February-May 2006 in the Society's Prince Building Winter Gallery on Main Street.  A number of pictures borrowed from both public and private sources will be featured in the exhibition.

The Museum Program of NYSCA supports the advancement of museums and museum service organizations by embracing the notion that clear planning and direction fosters stronger institutions, and that partnerships and collaboration can help broaden an organization's perspective and assist in better reaching its audience. The Program values projects that make the arts and culture relevant to contemporary life. Funding categories underscore these goals by encouraging museums and historic sites to be more responsive to their visitors and communities. The Program invites organizations to submit requests in the Exhibitions, Museum Education and Interpretation, Collections Care and Research, or Institutional Development categories.

For further information on this award, please contact Geoffrey K. Fleming at 765-5500 or visit the Society’s website at www.southoldhistoricalsociety.org .