Registration Begins for Watercolor Painting Classes in July at Historic Cedarmere Museum

Cedarmere, the historic Roslyn home of prominent 19th-century poet and editor William Cullen Bryant, is accepting registrations for its spring watercolor painting class beginning in May, announced Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi.

The series of five classes will be held on Tuesdays between July 1 and July 29 from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. If there is sufficient interest, a second series of classes will be added on Wednesdays from July 2 through July 30.

The program is designed for beginning and intermediate watercolor students with special attention given to those with little or no previous painting experience. Selma Stern, recently honored by the American Watercolor Society, returns for her 11th year as instructor. All sessions will be held in Cedarmere’s Gothic Revival mill, built in 1863 and located in a pastoral setting by the pond on the property. Participants will have the opportunity to paint “en plein air” (outdoors), weather permitting.

The mill was once used as an artist’s studio by Francis Bryant Godwin, great granddaughter of William Cullen Bryant. Harold Godwin, Bryant’s grandson, was also an accomplished watercolorist whose work, displayed at the estate, was inspired by the picturesque Cedarmere grounds.

The fee for the course is $115, and no refunds will be issued once classes begin (students are required to provide their own materials). To register and receive more information, call 516-571-8130.

Cedarmere, operated by the Nassau County Department of Parks, Recreation and Museums, includes the Bryant home and several other structures on a beautiful 7-acre property overlooking Roslyn Harbor. Visitors can view the exhibits in the house and stroll on the property, which includes a pond spanned by a rustic stone bridge, a Gothic Revival Mill, and a small formal garden. The property, which has been designated a part of the New York State Underground Railroad Heritage Trail, is located on Bryant Avenue west of Glen Cove Road.