NYACK, N.Y. (Sept. 13, 2018) – Ellis Sotheby’s International Realty has teamed up with Edward Hopper House Museum & Study Center in Nyack to host a Golden Age of Hollywood-themed fundraiser Oct. 6 from 7 to 10:30 p.m. to benefit arts education in Hudson Valley public schools.

Edward Hopper House Message in Bottle Art Photo

The Edward Hopper House Museum & Study Center partnered with seventh- and eighth-grade art students from South Orangetown Middle School on a project, “Memoirs in A Bottle,” inspired by Hopper’s written correspondence with a stranger who had written a letter in a bottle and thrown it into the Hudson River. Students were paired with senior residents from Dowling Gardens to each create a personalized bottle based on the senior’s life story.

During the last two years, Ellis Sotheby’s International Realty and Edward Hopper House raised about $50,000 to benefit arts education. The program has benefited over 1,000 pupils, encouraging them to expand their artistic analytical skills to become more creative and explore narrative storytelling as it relates to Edward Hopper’s art, home, life experiences and influence.

The gala will be held at Pretty Penny, 235 North Broadway, Nyack, an 1858 Italianate Victorian home overlooking the Hudson River and will include dinner, dancing, a martini bar and red-carpet welcome. The dress code is red carpet glamorous.

Edward Hopper Painting of Pretty Penny

Pretty Penny, painted by Edward Hopper, is in the collection of the Smith College Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. Charles MacArthur (Helen Hayes LHD, class of 1940)

Once owned by actress Helen Hayes, the “first lady of American theater,” and later by comedian, actress and television personality Rosie O’Donnell, the historic home was named Pretty Penny supposedly for the amount it cost to buy and maintain it. Hayes and her playwright husband, Charles MacArthur, moved into the home in 1932 during the Golden Age of Hollywood. There they entertained Marilyn Monroe, Rosalind Russell, Katharine Hepburn, Cole Porter, Laurence Olivier, Vivian Leigh, John Steinbeck, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ed Sullivan, Madonna and President Ronald Reagan and his wife, Nancy, among other celebrities. The home is currently listed for sale by Ellis Sotheby’s International Realty for $3,995,000.

Pretty Penny was painted by Edward Hopper, widely acknowledged as one of the most important painters of 20th century America. It was his only commission. It now is in the collection of the Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, Massachusetts, Hayes’ alma mater.

Speaking of his firm’s support of Edward Hopper House, Richard Ellis, owner of Ellis Sotheby’s International Realty, said he “believes in the importance of art education, for both the emotional and educational benefits it can provide young adults and for its influence on the way they appreciate not only art, but anything aesthetic for the rest of their lives.

“Funding for arts education has unfortunately been cut back through the years, and we believe this curriculum is important in creating a confident, well-rounded individual – or maybe even the next Edward Hopper. The Hudson Valley has a rich history of nurturing not only great artists but also free, independent thinkers who aren’t afraid to think out of the box. We have proudly served the Hudson Valley community for more than 33 years and are committed to nurturing our future generations.”

Sleep Hollow high school students at Edward Hopper House in Nyack

Hollow High School students engage in arts education program at Edward Hopper House Museum & Study Center in Nyack with Jennifer Patton, executive director of the center.

The program’s curriculum is focused on the recurrent themes and distinctive aesthetics of Edward Hopper’s work and its place in American art. Led by an artist-in-residence at the school, each program session includes an introductory classroom lesson, a visit to the Edward Hopper House and a classroom lesson following the visit.

The Arts Education Program initially was funded in 2016 with proceeds from a fundraiser sponsored by Ellis Sotheby’s International Realty that benefited Nyack Public Schools, Nanuet School District, Clarkstown Schools, East Ramapo Schools, South Orangetown Middle and Sleepy Hollow School District.

“The generosity of Ellis Sotheby’s International Realty has allowed the Edward Hopper House to create and sustain a powerful arts education program,” said Jennifer Patton EdD, Executive Director of Edward Hopper House. “Touching the lives and supporting the creativity of over 1,000 students has been made possible by this empowering partnership.”

Ellis said Pretty Penny is the “ideal venue” to celebrate both art education and history, given its special connection with both Edward Hopper as well as to the current owner, art dealer Graham Arader, owner of Arader Galleries in New York City, a leading dealer and auction house of rare maps, prints, books and watercolors of the 16th through 19th centuries. “As the culture of Ellis Sotheby’s International Realty is built around the Sotheby’s Auction House, which showcases objects and art of exceptional quality and trends, leading this event is a natural fit for us,” he said.

Limited tickets are available. For more information, email hollywoodgalainfo@gmail.com. To purchase tickets, click here.

About Ellis Sotheby’s International Realty

Ellis Sotheby’s International Realty is a leading luxury real estate broker located in the Hudson Valley village of Nyack, approximately 22 miles from New York City at 76 N. Broadway. The firm lists and sells extraordinary properties in New York’s Rockland and Orange counties, specializing in the lower Hudson Valley, from Upper Nyack through Snedens Landing to Tuxedo Park. The firm sells the area’s most extraordinary real estate, from fine country estates, waterfront homes, historic properties, farm houses and contemporaries to Victorians, Greek Revivals and log cabins. Ellis Sotheby’s International Realty associates have extensive knowledge of the lower Hudson Valley, including Nyack, Piermont, Grandview, Palisades, Snedens Landing, New City, Tuxedo Park, Warwick, Goshen, Cornwall, Greenwood Lake, Pierson Lakes, Suffern, West Nyack, Blauvelt and Tappan.

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