Benefit Event

Will Support One Of Mary Hawley’s Gifts To Newtown

By Kendra Bobowick

She stepped toward the painting and ran a finger along the name plaque on its frame. “Mary Elizabeth Hawley,” artist Ruth Newquist read aloud.

Reaching down, she lifted an oil painting of her own and propped it on a table beneath Ms Hawley’s portrait. The austere and reclusive benefactress portrayed in the painting bequeathed Edmond Town Hall to Newtown. On a recent morning the portrait of the town’s benefactress looked down upon Ruth Newquist and Mary Hawley Society member Marg Studley as the women stood for a photograph.

Held between them was Ms Newquist’s oil, “Roadside Barns,” revealing a snowy field where tall grasses reach through the white crust in the foreground, behind which is a sunlight barn on a stone foundation.

“I just happened upon it,” Ms Newquist said. The New England scene that she painted is somewhere on a back road in Sandy Hook. On Saturday, February 20, from 6 to 8:30 pm, in the Alexandria Room during a Wine and Scotch Malt Tasting fundraiser organized by The Mary Hawley Society to benefit Edmond Town Hall, “Roadside Barns” will be among the items auctioned.

Thanking Mrs Newquist, Ms Studley said, “This is wonderful.”

In an effort to raise money to support the historic building and its banquet hall gifted to the town, Ms Newquist replied, “I want this to sell for you.” The framed painting measures 20 by 24 inches.

Other artists including Richard McEvoy have contributed auction pieces, while other prizes for the evening include vintage postcards donated by Joan Crick, movie passes, a one-year pass to Newtown Youth Academy track, and two season passes to Newtown Friends of Music. Other auction items are still being arranged. Nancy Bamberg is the caterer, and jazz entertainment will be provided by Jeff McGill.

Tickets to the fundraiser are $35, and are limited. Contact Marg Studley at Wes91@aol.com or 203-426-3651 for details and reservations.