Art
Who can ask for more than to turn 100 looking better than ever, dancing into the next century with a bluegrass band crowd, plates filled high with cupcakes, and a happy crowd? We should all be so lucky. On Thursday night it was that kind of first-century birthday for the Vineyard Square Hotel and Suites, the Edgartown accommodations formerly known as the Colonial Inn.
The past year has been a difficult one for Jared Meader. Caught at the center of some of the most pressing national issues of the day, the two-time Iraq war veteran has had to refinance his Vineyard Haven house to pay off medical bills from a brain tumor, and he now struggles to hold onto a mortgage while battling the psychological scars of combat. All while raising four children. For most people the burden of such a harrowing biography would be too much to bear, but Mr. Meader has the support of a community rallying to his aid.
The Vineyard Independence Partnership (VIP) invites members, friends and potential friends to two June events: On June 7 at 5 p.m., VIP will be hosting a walk at Polly Hill Arboretum in West Tisbury, followed by a pizza supper. A $5 contribution to Polly Hill and RSVP are requested. The rain date will be June 8.
On Tuesday, June 28, Flatbread Pizza on Airport Road in Edgartown will donate a generous slice of the evening’s pizza sales to support VIP activities.
Fresh Air
This summer, share the beauty of your community and help an inner-city child enjoy new experiences such as swimming in a cool pond and catching fireflies. Join thousands who open their hearts and homes to New York city children from low-income communities through the Fresh Air Fund’s Volunteer Host Family program, now in its 135th summer.
A Thomas Hart Benton Vineyard landscape painting will go on the auction block Thursday at the Swann Galleries in New York city. The painting is from Mr. Benton’s early work, estimated to have been painted in the 1920s when Mr. Benton and his wife, Rita, first began summering on the Vineyard. Titled Landscape, Martha’s Vineyard, the painting is oil on paper, circa 1922-24.
The painting’s more abstract look is indicative of Benton’s early to mid-career work, according to Todd Weyman, a Benton expert at Swann Galleries.
By JONAH LIPSKY
Near the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and MassArt in Boston lies a small basement gallery. At the entrance to the space a large electric sign hovers above the door displaying the word yes in three languages: Yes. Oui. Si.