Seven to Save Spotlight: James Brooks / Charlotte Park Home & Studios
James Brooks and Charlotte Park’s Home and Studios in East Hampton has been included on the 2022-2023 Seven to Save list. The Brooks-Park site belonged to Abstract Expressionist painters James Brooks and Charlotte Park who were foundational members of the AbEx Art movement. The site has been vacant since 2010 and has fallen into significant disrepair. A group of grassroots advocates have sprung up to fight to save this important historic site and the natural landscape on which it sits. The League is eager to assist this efforts and bring much-deserved attention to the artists who made this place their home.
Threat: Demolition; Deterioration; Lack of Public Awareness; Vacancy
This listing follows close behind the inclusion of Brooks-Park on Preservation Long Island’s 2021 Endangered Historic Properties List and the 2022 National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 11 Most Endangered List, underscoring the truly national importance of this site.
The exterior of James Brooks’ studio featuring a sawtooth roofline, designed to allow more natural light to fill the space.
“Not many endangered sites have been awarded such recognition at local (Preservation Long Island Endangered Historic Places), state (Preservation League of NYS Seven to Save), and national levels (National Trust for Historic Preservation 11 Most Endangered Historic Places),” said Marietta Gavaris an officer of the Brooks Park Arts and Nature Center. “These designations emphasize the imperative to fully preserve all four structures on the Brooks-Park site. The Brooks-Park Arts and Nature Center committee (BPANC) looks forward to partnering with the Town of East Hampton to ensure robust allocation of CPF funds to fully preserve the site to facilitate the creation of a flourishing Arts and Nature Center.”
The interior of Charlotte’s studio. Credit: Marietta Gavaris
Artists James Brooks and Charlotte Park were at the forefront of the Abstract Expressionist art movement of the 1940s and 50s. James Brooks in particular is especially is well known for painting the largest site-specific WPA wall mural, in the landmarked interior of the Marine Terminal at New York’s La Guardia Airport, Their home and studios in East Hampton are part of a constellation of such live-work spaces including the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center, Elaine de Kooning House, Madoo Conservancy, and the Victor D’Amico Art Barge. The four buildings that anchor this 11-acre site include James Brooks’s studio, a Midcentury vernacular structure designed and built by the artist; Charlotte Park’s studio, which was reportedly the original Wainscott post office; and the couple’s residence and guest cottage, which had been moved via barge from Montauk after their studios were damaged in a hurricane.
The buildings have been vacant since Charlotte’s death in 2010. Despite being purchased by the Town of Easthampton in 2013 with Community Preservation Funds (CPF), the site has remained vacant, with little done to protect or stabilize the buildings. The Town opened bids for demolition, which remained active until grassroots advocates learned of the site’s plight in 2019. Since then, the group that is now organized as the Brooks-Park Arts and Nature Center has worked tirelessly to raise public awareness. Overdevelopment is a major issue on Long Island, and the preservation of this site provides a chance to not only save a vital part of local history connected to a groundbreaking American art movement, but also a pristine natural landscape.