FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Austerlitz, NY – On Friday, May 27 the Edna St.Vincent Millay Historic House Museum, STEEPLETOP, off Route 22 in Austerlitz, NY will open for its second full season of tours and events. Now in its fifth year as a Historic House and Garden Museum, Steepletop has many new things to offer to visitors this season. Closing day is Monday, October 17.
House tours will be offered at 11:30, 12:30, 2:30 and 3:30 every Friday and Monday with advance reservations suggested as only six people may be accommodated on any tour. The same schedule will apply on Saturday and Sunday with an additional departure at 1:30 added this season. This one hour tour can be combined with a one hour tour of the 13 garden rooms Millay created, each for its own specific purpose. Individually the tours will cost $16, but a combination can be had for only $25 per person.
In the gallery this year is a unique look at the talents of Millay’s brother-in-law, the actor Charles Ellis. In addition to a splendid career on the Broadway stage Ellis was a superb painter and the gallery in what was his old studio is dedicated this year to showing his growth as a painter of portraits. CHARLES ELLIS PORTRAITS, 1916-1976: CLOTHED AND UNCLOTHED includes 31 (thirty-one) paintings, 38 (thirty-eight) sketches in pencil, pen or charcoal, photographs and memorabilia. Among his subjects are the poet Mary Oliver, actress Claudette Colbert, playwrights Eugene O’Neill and Maxwell Anderson, and the poet Edna St. Vincent Millay.
The gallery is open every day except Wednesday from 11am to 4:30pm. There is a $10 general admission, but any booked guided tour includes the gallery exhibition. This is a first-ever look at this important painter’s work in this field. A student of Robert Henri and John Sloan, his work as an actor overshadowed his more essential contribution to the art of portraiture during his own lifetime. (Editors note: Visuals are available on request.)
This season the museum at Steepletop will feature three special events: Sunday, July 17 at 4:30 there will be a collaborative reading of Millay’s 52 (fifty-two) sonnet account of her love affair with poet George Dillon “Fatal Interview” to celebrate the 80th anniversary of its publication; Thursday, August 18 there will be a Millay wedding anniversary party at Steepletop (details to come); Sunday October 16 is the date for the annual Secret Garden walk with wine, cheese and poetry. All three events may be booked in advance.
For more information or to book a tour, call 518-392-3362.
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