The Hamptons; Home to my Heart

Scarsdale 1986 by divadebbi 

I spent a few days in my beloved Hampton's this week, home to so many happy summers, particularly summers spent on bucolic Shelter Island at my Aunt Dee and Uncle Dick's home on the water.  Family weekends were spent sunning, swimming, playing horseshoes, cooking and watching viciously competitive games of Scrabble between my Aunt and my Mom till 2 a.m.  Blood sport I assure you...

It completely charms me that places like our traditional first stop, the Bridgehampton Candy Kitchen have remained completely unchanged. There is no better ice cream on the planet.  It's the kind of place that everyone goes to, including Hampton's luminaries with their kids and no one gives them a second glance.  

A classic...

Sag Harbor Variety Store

The Sag Harbor Variety Store is another favorite of mine.  My son used to love riding the mechanical car and horse out front.  They are still there and they still cost 25 cents.

A gem...

The American Hotel, Sag Harbor N.Y.

The American Hotel is exactly as I remember it, and you can still savor a glass of good wine and  play backgammon in the evening, as we did on so many nights.

Timeless...

Over the years, I have frequented the Parrish Museum in Southampton many times. Established in 1897 and housed on Jobs Lane, the Parrish has always been a second home to many artists who made the North and South Shore of Long Island their home, including masters Pollack, Lichenstein and De Kooning.

Original Parrish Museum, Southampton N.Y.

As we were driving out, we spotted a huge, low slung barn and wondered if perhaps a herd of heifers were living there. I knew the Parrish had moved to Water Mill, a neighboring town, but I had no idea what it looked like. When we inquired while shopping in Southampton, we were told it was the new Parrish. Below is a rendering (and ironically, later on in the weekend we did spot a herd of heifers one of the sprawling farms in Bridgehampton, definitely a Hampton's first):

Of course we had to go and explore it.

The enormous structure is stark and light filled, perfectly suited to the work of Contemporary paintings by Eric Fischl, Chuck Close and April Gornik.  There were magnificent paintings by the Master American Impressionist William Merritt Chase, including the breathtaking Blue Kimono:

And an incredible collection of the Post-war American Realist Painter Fairfield Porter:

Glorious.

I also fell in love with this painting by Eric Fischl titled Scarsdale 1986:

I found it fascinating...what on earth would cause a new bride to look so despairing???

I wondered what the daughter of a Mother like that would turn out like, thus creating the Polyvore set at the top of the page---essentially, like mother, like daughter...

Memories, past and present.

All good...

xox,
DD