Let's Make a Deal in N.Y.

The doors at Mark McDonald Ltd. originally adorned a 1930s-era movie theater in nearby Saugerties, N.Y.





From the Washington Post
By Annie Groer
Sunday, September 7, 2008; Page P06

Make no mistake about it. You go to Hudson, N.Y., a slowly gentrifying, semi-shabby city of roughly 7,000 souls, to feather your nest.

Sure, you can admire splendid Hudson River and Catskill Mountain vistas 125 miles north of Manhattan, check out four centuries of architecture, eat and drink well in a Starbucks-free community and even take in local culture.

But the main draw, which has been evolving over 20 years, is antique furniture, art, rugs, sculpture, books, funky tchotchkes and, increasingly, new home furnishings. Feel the need for some George III or Louis XVI chairs? A Murano glass chandelier? Japanese erotica, garden sculpture, 1970s psychedelic barware, elaborate quilts, primitive paintings? How about decorating advice on pulling this stuff together?

It can all be yours along an eight-block stretch of Warren Street and a few adjacent byways. The mile-long main drag boasts about 60 antiques dealers, whose merchandising style ranges from meticulously curated to annoyingly jumbled, and 100-plus flea-market-style vendors sharing space in two large old buildings nearby.

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Cedar Grove’s Fourth Annual Summer Party

Catskill, NY - The biggest event of the year at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site is happening on Saturday, July 21, at 5 p.m., when hundreds of supportive party-goers will enjoy cocktails on the porch of the Federal-style Main House, home of the founder of the Hudson River School, followed by privately hosted dinners at spectacular nearby homes.

Flowers will again be donated and arranged by Douglas Koch, renowned florist whose accounts include Bloomingdales, the Helmsley Hotels, Peninsula Hotel, Plaza Athenee, Elizabeth Arden, Altria, JP Morgan Chase, Solomon Smith Barney, Morgan Stanley, and many others.

The event is themed around Thomas Cole's 1846 painting entitled "The Pic-Nic", featuring Cole with his friends and family enjoying a beautiful summer day with wine, food and music. In the painting, Thomas Cole is seen playing an Italian guitar with special floral detailing, a work of art now on view at Cedar Grove. The guitar is on loan for the season from Alexander Gallery in New York City. The painting is reproduced in full color on the invitation, courtesy of Ruder Finn, Inc., with additional printing donated by Hillcrest Press. Catering is by Georgia Ray's Country Caterers and photography is by Brian Branigan.

Chair of the event is Lisa Fox Martin, assisted by the event committee of Pamela Belfor, Frank Cuthbert, Jackie Dunn, Ronnie McCue, and Amy Von Scholtz.

Dinners will be hosted by Jean and Richard Bassin, Pamela and Theodore Belfor, Rosalind Daly and Glenda Ruby, Lisa Fox Martin and Dick May, Friends of Beattie-Powers, Carrie and Nick Haddad, Howard Hall Farm and Stewart House, Peter O’Hara and John Garofalo, Purcell and Jim Palmer, Ray Pierce and Bob Gillis, Janeen Sarlin, Michele Saunders, Betsy and Alfred Scott, and Ethel and Ken Williams.

Tickets are $75 for members or $100 for not-yet-members. Early reservations are encouraged. Checks can be mailed and made payable to Thomas Cole Historic Site, P.O. Box 426, Catskill, NY 12414.

For more information, call (518) 943-7465, or visit: www.thomascole.org