New Parrish Art Museum To Receive $60,000 Federal Grant

The is slated to receive a $60,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for the installation of its permanent collection at its new facility under construction in Water Mill, expected to open in summer 2012.

At its current facility on Jobs Lane in Southampton Village, the museum does not have the space to display its permanent collection while having rotating exhibitions at the same time. But the spacious new museum will afford the Parrish the ability to do both, Parrish Director Terrie Sultan said in a statement Tuesday, the day the grant was announced by NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman.

“The Parrish holds many spectacular works of art, but has not been able to provide access to these treasures on a permanent basis,” Sultan said.

Some notable works in the Parrish’s collection that will go on permanent display include William Merritt Chase’s The Bayberry Bush, paintings by Fairfield Porter, and contemporary art by American masters such as Chuck Close, Sultan said. “There will always be something to see at the Parrish, and we are deeply appreciative of the NEA for helping us to realize the full potential of this first-ever installation of the permanent collection.”

"Museum visitors, including the many national and international tourists to the East End of Long Island, will be able to view works in the collection in the context in which many were created," a statement from the Parrish issued Tuesday reads. "At the same time, visitors to the museum’s newly enhanced website will have access to a virtual tour of the installation and in-depth interpretive material."

The $60,000 is one of the NEA’s second round of fiscal year 2011 grants, according to the Parrish, which is one of 1,145 nonprofit national, regional, state, and local organizations recommended for a grant. The NEA will distribute more than $88 million to support projects nationwide.