Many towns along the Hudson River are in varying stages of experiencing a revival, and a large part of that process is due to the influx of artists who want to create their works here, and the galleries that support them by exhibiting their works.  Saugerties is no exception. A fairly recent newcomer to the Saugerties art scene and one of the most outstanding art venues in the village is the Emerge Gallery & Art Space on Main Street (close to the intersection with Partition Street).

Emerge Gallery focuses on emerging artists from the Hudson Valley region and beyond by hosting monthly group exhibitions and other events. Proprietor and curator Robert P. Langdon strives to identify and exhibit the best emerging artists from the Hudson Valley region and beyond. Each month he mounts a new exhibition, and frequently each show includes work of various mediums and styles. The exhibition Equine: A Group Exhibition of Art Celebrating the Horse pays tribute to Saugerties’ tradition of horse shows. With a stunning variety of work by over forty artists, everyone who visits is guaranteed to see something reflecting their particular taste and interests.  The photos I’m including here give some idea of what Equine offers.

This wonderful show closes on October 2 and will be followed by Change: A Group Exhibition of Art by Members of the National Association of Women Artists (NAWA). Running from October 7 to October 30, Change has its opening reception on Saturday, October 7, 2017 from 5-8 PM, with an advance preview on October 6 as part of Saugerties’ First Friday.

Before he opened Emerge Gallery, Robert Langdon was Director at Gallery U in Red Bank and Westfield, NJ, where he played an instrumental role in furthering the art scene in both communities. Then as now, his strength lay in community building and supporting and promoting emerging artists.

Robert has previously been Director of Sales and Marketing at a nonprofit children’s picture book publisher in San Francisco, where he began working one-on-one with fine artists; still-life photographer in Manhattan where he photographed still life for Macy’s and A&S catalogs among others; and teacher in suburban New Jersey. Born and raised in New Jersey, he lived in San Francisco for thirteen years and now calls the beautiful Hudson Valley home.

Emerge Gallery is an open and welcoming environment that is also available to rent for solo and privately curated exhibitions.  Artwork from current and previous exhibitions, along with online exclusives, are available through the gallery’s website at www.emergegalleryny.com.

One of the buildings at the Bronck Museum.

I first “met” Coxsackie seven years ago when photographing for my book Historic Hudson Valley, and my visit back then was limited to the famous Bronck Museum. Pieter Bronck — despite his Dutch-sounding name, he was of Swedish origin — bought property on that site from Mohican Indians in 1662 and, with his Dutch wife Hilletje Jans, built a house there the following year. Over the next several decades many more buildings, including barns and other farm structures, were added.

The settlement of Coxsackie itself predates Bronck’s arrival by some ten years, and although he didn’t give his name to the town — that honor belongs to the Coxsackievirus, which was first isolated here — his name is enshrined farther south in New York State, in the Bronx.

During a recent Open House in which several of Coxsackie’s churches opened their doors to welcome visitors I had the chance to see a bit more of this town. Below are a few of the photos I took that day, along with two from the Bronck Museum taken a few weeks later.

As part of this year’s celebration of Pieter Bronck’s 400th birthday, there will be a guided tour of Coxsackie’s Historic District on Friday September 8 and Saturday September 9 (rain dates the following week). This little jewel in the northern part of Greene County is well worth getting to know. You can find more information by clicking here.

The famous Good Shepherd Window in the Second Reformed Church.

The First United Methodist Church.

The Gospel Community Church, a friendly and musical Pentecostal church.

Impressive organ pipes at St. Mary’s Catholic Church.

An “extract” of a barn building at the Bronck Museum.