Sagaponack Sculpture Field Is Now Part of the Parrish

Down in Sagaponack Village, an area defined by its hedges and private property signs, there sits a little slice of heaven for lovers of art — a nearly two-acre property that is dotted by an eclectic collection of large sculptures.

And the good news is, it’s open to the public and totally free.

Located on Wilkes Lane, for decades the Sagaponack Sculpture Field has been owned by art collectors Louis K. Meisel and Susan Pear Meisel (who is herself a renowned artist). The Meisels live next door and over the years, they have placed some 20 sculptures on the property by artists such as Audrey Flack, Joel Perlman, Oded Halahmy and Kenneth Snelson.

But earlier this summer, it was announced that the couple has donated their Sagaponack Sculpture Field to the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill. That announcement was made during the museum’s summer gala in July.

“We’ve been working on this gift for about a year,” explained Parrish Art Museum Executive Director, Dr. Mónica Ramírez-Montagut in a phone interview. “We’ve started to operate the field, then after five years, we’ll see where we are. It increases the footprint of the Parrish by making sculpture available. We’ll be managing the property the way it is, keeping it open to the public.”

The gift is structured so that the Parrish will ultimately have two options — either keep the property as is or sell the field and make a selection of sculptures to bring to the grounds of the museum. In the meantime, the property could be used for private museum benefits or other functions, with the proper permits.

“It’s incredibly exciting,” Ramírez-Montagut added. “I don’t think the Parrish has seen a gift of that caliber in decades. Fifteen years ago, a lot of the funds we were raising were going toward the new building.

“Sue and Lou, as collectors and artists, have dedicated their lives to the arts and with this generous donation will shape for the better the lives of residents of the East End.”

During a recent tour of the property, Louis K. Meisel, an art dealer who is credited with coining the term “Photorealism,” explained that his passion for art began on September 4, 1956 (literally) when he was 14 and his friend, Larry, suggested they visit MoMA in Manhattan.

“I said, ‘What’s that?’” recalled Meisel, who, at the time, was more familiar with classical music than modern art. “We learned about Rothko, Kline, de Kooning, etc., we got involved and by 1959, we were at the Cedar Bar hanging out with the Abstract Expressionists.

“In ’63, we found out they were all out in the Hamptons,” he added. “So my friend and I came out with sleeping bags and stayed in the dunes to hang with the Abstract Expressionists.”

At that point, the Parrish may have been located in the small town of Southampton, but Meisel notes it has always been more than a small town museum, given that since its founding by art collector Samuel Parrish in 1898, the museum has punched above its weight.

“In the ’50s and ’60s, the most famous New York artists all came to the Hamptons — it was the center of the art world for the whole world,” said Meisel, who has been a dealer for 60 years and has either worked with or represented a long list of artists, including Theodoros Stamos, Mark Rothko, Franz Kline, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Mel Ramos and others.

“And unlike any other art dealer anyone’s met, it’s not about money or how much I can sell,” Meisel added. “It’s about history and placing paintings in right places. I’m a collector more than a dealer. I have thousands of things in my collection and I got a lot of it when people didn’t pay attention to it.”

In addition to fine art, from porcelain and steel vintage cow signs, to boot jacks and boats in bottles, Meisel’s collection is indeed, eclectic.

“I’ve been working with over 300 museums over the last 30 years doing shows for the artists I care about,” said Meisel, who also writes books about art and the artists he admires.

Meisel explained that he and his wife purchased their home on Wilkes Lane in 1984. The development, which was new at the time, had been created from a 16-acre farm that was subdivided into eight, two-acre lots.

“As people moved in, we would meet them as they were buying the houses and I said, ‘We don’t have hedges on Wilkes Lane. I’ve started collecting trees,’” said Meisel, who now has more than 30 beech tree varieties on his property. “The street is completely open. When the final lot came available, I bought the lot to keep it open. It’s a beautiful street.”

The sculpture soon followed and Meisel has added pieces that have come to him over the years, including recent works by Sagaponack sculptor Hans Van de Bovenkamp, whom he represents.

“Hopefully, this will be a $15 million gift,” said Meisel of the Parrish donation. “I told them, ‘I’ll give you the land and the sculpture and you continue running it so people can visit for free. During the next five years, we’ll make an attempt to create a great sculpture garden behind the museum, then after five years, the Parrish can take what they want from the sculpture field here. They can then sell the land and if they get, say, $10 million, $5 million will go as an endowment and the other $5 million they can do whatever they want.

“There are all sorts of possibilities.”

The Sagaponack Sculpture Garden on Wilkes Lane is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Visit parrishart.org for more information on the Parrish Art Museum.