Nationally Known Painter & Photographer Barry Elz Featured

The featured artist at the 10th Annual Holiday Art Show & Hand Craft Sale at The Hadlyme Public Hall Thanksgiving Weekend will be Barry Elz of Michigan, a nationally recognized impressionist landscape painter and photographer who lived in the Lyme area for many years.

Elz’s landscape oils are a contemporary stylized approach reminiscent and respectful of the American impressionist from the early 1900's, many of whom lived and painted in Lyme and Old Lyme.

“The opportunity to paint and live in the same countryside as Willard Metcalf, Bruce Crane and John Twachtman was a priceless experience,” said Elz of his time living in Lyme.

Many of Elz’s landscapes now hang in public spaces including The Boston Sheraton Hotel, The Raytheon Corporation and Kemper Insurance Company, as well as, many private collections. He has also had exhibits in several venues, including the prestigious Cooley Gallery in Old Lyme.

Elz is also nationally recognized commercial and journalistic photographer, with studios located in New York City and Chicago.  His photograph portfolio includes over three decades of published national campaigns for clients such as Gatorade, Nike, Land's End and in publications, such as the NY Times, Sports Illustrated and Time Magazine.

He photographed many celebrities, including Michael Jordan, Alex Rodriguez, Cindy Crawford and Kathy Ireland and eventually published a portrait book that reached the New York Times Best Seller List.

Elz plans to exhibit up to ten oil paintings in a range of small to moderate sizes. Many of his oils can be seen on his website.

There will also be more artists exhibiting mixed media, holiday home décor, photography, oil & watercolor paintings, stoneware, wood carvings, jewelry, pottery, and sculpture.

All the artists have been asked to prepare “Small Wonders” in order to be able to offer some pieces that are affordable for all and perfect for everybody’s holiday gift lists.

Each year the following for this show grows.  For its beginnings, the goal of the show has been to offer gifts of fine art and hand crafts in all price ranges. This venue embraces and is a show place of many local artists and artisans from the Connecticut River valley.

The Thanksgiving Hadlyme Art Show is a perfect outing for family and friends visiting for the long holiday weekend because it can include a drive through some of New England’s most beautiful countryside.  Get off I-95 at Exit 70, and take Rt. 156 north through the Connecticut River hamlet of Hamburg on storied Hamburg Cove. About 100 yards past the Lyme Congregational Church in Hamburg bear left onto Old Hamburg Road and go through the Hamburg Bridge Historic District at the mouth of the Eight Mile River. Then go left over the bridge and wind your way up bucolic Joshuatown Road past old mill ponds and 19th Century clapboard cottages into the peaceful farmland and tidal salt marshes of historic Hadlyme. 

When you arrive, you can shop at your own pace with no sales pitches or aggressive sales people to annoy you. There will be local folk to welcome you with refreshments made in neighborhood kitchens, and you will be able to talk directly to the artists whose work you can admire.

And when you leave for home, you can drive down Ferry Road to the Connecticut River and take the charming little Chester-Hadlyme Ferry (nine cars max) over to Chester, where you’ll find several fine cafes and restaurants for a late lunch or dinner.

The show opens Friday Nov. 25 from 4-8pm with a wine reception and an opportunity to meet the artists. It will be open on Saturday, Nov. 26 from 11am-5pm and on Sunday Nov. 27 from 11am-4pm.

More information about the art show can be found on the Hadlyme Hall website.