Celebrating the History of Westport as an Artists' Colony

Westport has a long history as a Mecca for artists of all sorts.

To celebrate that history, an exciting new film highlighting the work of 50 artists — many of whom started their careers when the Westport artists’ colony was in full swing — has been created. The public debut for “Years in the Making: A Journey into Late Life Creativity” is scheduled for 7 p.m. Sunday in the Westport Town Hall Auditorium. 

Just after the start of the 20^th century, fine arts painters and illustrators began arriving and settling here in large numbers. According to records at the Westport Historical Society, more than 160 illustrators lived and worked in Westport between 1900 and the 1940’s, including artists from the Disney Studios and faculty members of the FAS (Famous Artists Schools).

The attraction stemmed from the town’s proximity to New York City as well as the beauty that abounds in town. Local folks frequently posed for busy illustrators, and everyone from the butcher to the fireman might have found himself featured on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post. Examples of the work done in Westport during this era can be found in the Westport Schools Permanent Art Collection. An exhibit featuring this work is now on display at the Westport Historical Society.

To recognize and celebrate the town’s illustrious past, the new documentary film has been produced. The hour-long film features 50 artists from Westport and Weston, all of whom are over age 70 – some of them into their 90’s — and still working. In fact, the artworks featured in the film were all created within the last three years. These artists produce work in all kinds of media ranging from oil and charcoal to sculpture, photography and printmaking.

Martin West, a Hollywood veteran, is the director, editor and one of the producers behind the project.

“We've been sending it out to film festivals and have been well received,” West said. “So far we've won five (awards), with 14 more festivals ahead of us going into next year. Also, some distributors as well as PBS are showing early interest.”

A dedicated team of people pulled the project together over a period of more than three years, including Kristin Rasich Fox, Ann Chernow, and Ada Lambert, as well as Paul Alan Levi, who composed the music.

Actor Keir Dullea narrated the film. Other donors, including private and public organizations, Westport residents and governmental agencies provided additional financial help. A significant contribution was a $50,000 grant from the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism. The documentary has already been shown in private screenings to the financial “angels” behind it as well as to the featured artists.

According to Chernow, one of the producers and an artist in her own right, the filmmakers got a call recently from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

“They’re asking for all of the archives from the project,” Chernow said. “It’s very exciting.”

And there’s more to come; the finished product will involve an incredible 50 separate DVDs featuring interviews with each of the artists and a discussion of their methods. Every school in Westport and Weston will receive a copy of the completed archives and the documentary film in DVD format, along with a study guide to assist classroom teachers. Chernow says that as far as the filmmakers are aware, there is no such project anywhere in the country of this type.

Inspired by the film, the Westport Historical Society recently presented an exhibit called “Years in the Making; Ageless Artists, Ageless Art” which featured these same talented individuals. Some of the pieces from the artists are represented in the world’s finest museums and collections.

Many of the folks featured in the film remember the roots of the artists’ colony that was established in Westport more than a century ago. They are still passionate about their work, getting up every morning and picking up a paintbrush, a pen, or just looking at the world through an artist’s eyes. And while they are still here, they are a link to Westport’s creative past, vibrant and alive — and now captured on film forever.

The public debut for “Years in the Making: A Journey into Late Life Creativity” is free and open to the public on a first-come first-served basis. For further information, call 203-227-1302 or go to the website www.YearsInTheMaking.org.