“Woodstock Art Colony Kids:
with Barbara Carlson, Sarah Mecklem and Meed Wetterau Barnett”
Date: Tuesday, February 28, 2023
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Via Zoom; to join the event, request the Zoom link by emailing historicalsocietyofwoodstockny@gmail.com with “Woodstock Art Colony Kids” in the subject line
On February 28, 2023 at 7 PM, art historian Bruce Weber will interview Meed Wetterau Barnett, Barbara Carlson, and Sarah Mecklem, all of whom grew up in Woodstock’s art colony in the period after World War II. They will discuss their experiences coming of age in this unique community, their artistic families, and the impact growing up in Woodstock among a thriving community of artists has had on their lives.
Meed Wetterau Barnett is the grandchild of illustrator and landscape painter Rudolph Wetterau and portrait painter Margaret Wetterau. Meed was born in Greenwich Village and lived there until they were almost five, when the family broke up. They lived in and near Woodstock until they left at the age of eighteen. They have deep visual memories of both late ‘40s Greenwich Village and ‘50s /’60s Woodstock. Meed has followed the family tradition and is an artist, writer, and singer.
Barbara Carlson is the granddaughter of John F. Carlson, landscape painter and author of The Elementary Principles of Landscape Painting, and of Margaret Goddard Carlson, also a noted landscape painter. Many of her other family members were involved in the visual arts and music, including her uncle, Broadway performer and singer Robert Eric Carlson. She believes that the “wide, deep, and constant exposure to the arts” that growing up in Woodstock provided was unique.
Sarah Mecklem is the daughter of Austin Mecklem and Marianne Appel, both noted landscape artists. She grew up in Woodstock with the children of many other local artists until moving to New York City at age 10. She went to art school, including at the Woodstock School of Art. Sarah Mecklem is herself a noted painter and sculptor who has exhibited widely, including at Kleinert James Art Center in Woodstock.
This Zoom event can be accessed by sending an email to historicalsocietyofwoodstockny@gmail.com with “Woodstock Art Colony Kids” as the subject line; a link for the event will then be sent.
The Historical Society of Woodstock was founded in 1929 by a group of artists, writers, academics, and local citizens. In addition to the exhibition space, which is located at the historic Eames House on Comeau Drive in the center of Woodstock, the Historical Society has an extensive archive consisting of paintings, prints, drawings, sculpture, textiles, photographs, books, manuscripts, correspondence, documents, film/sound recordings, and antique tools. The archive serves as a resource for a wide range of exhibitions, public programming, and research.