Celebrating Sea Cliff’s
History and Heritage
Sew Sea Cliff:
Highlights from the Museum’s Textile Collection
This spring, the Sea Cliff Village Museum will reopen with the new exhibit Sew Sea Cliff: Highlights from the Museum’s Textile Collection. Despite the village’s proximity to the shops and tailors of nearby New York City, many Sea Cliff women still made their own quilts and clothes, and spent their downtime partaking in needle crafts such as knitting, crocheting, or embroidery. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, middle class men and women often wore shirts with separate cuffs and collars, so they could be washed and ironed separately. In Sea Cliff, women could purchase sewing supplies at local stores such as Hawkshaw’s to embellish their dresses or create new pieces. Visit the museum on Saturdays 11-2 and Wednesdays 12-5 beginning March 1st to view some of these hand made treasures from Sea Cliff’s past. Be sure to keep an eye on our website, www.seacliffmuseum.org, for information on our annual spring cocktail party.
Stevenson Academy: The Legacy of Harold Ransom Stevenson and his Sea Cliff Atelier
The Sea Cliff Village Museum’s current exhibit is Stevenson Academy: The Legacy of Harold Ransom Stevenson and his Sea Cliff Atelier, showcasing the work of Sea Cliff artist and resident Harold Ransom Stevenson (1924-1985), his wife and fellow artist Alma Gallanos, and their students from the art school they ran between 1960 and Stevenson’s death in 1985.
Stevenson studied at the Art Students League of New York City after serving in World War II. He also spent a summer studying with Norman Rockwell at his studio in Arlington, Vermont, which greatly impacted the course of Stevenson’s career. Like his mentor, Stevenson became an illustrator, painter, and teacher. During the 1950s, Stevenson worked as a freelance magazine cover artist, creating covers for national publications.
In 1960, Stevenson opened his painting studio, The Stevenson Academy of Traditional Painting, at his home at 361 Glen Avenue. That studio trained a generation of North Shore artists, some of whose work is featured in Stevenson Academy: The Legacy of Harold Ransom Stevenson and his Sea Cliff Atelier.
The exhibit will be open Wednesdays 12-5, Saturdays 11-2, and by appointment through December 18th.
Sea Cliff High School
1955
The Regional Media Legacies Project at NYU recently digitized one of the museum's films as part of a grant from the Robert L. Gardiner Foundation. Enjoy this film from the Sea Cliff High School class of 1955. Do you know a member of the SCHS class of 1955? We would love to hear from you!
Visit Us
95 Tenth Avenue
PO Box 340
Sea Cliff, NY 11579
Museum Hours
Wednesdays 12 - 5pm
Saturdays 11am–2pm
Office Hours
Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays 10 - 2:30
Phone
(516) 801-3401
Sea Cliff Beach, 1912
Join us!
Docents are needed to work on Saturdays from 11-2. Docents guide visitors through our exhibits and run the gift shop. If you can spare a few weekend hours every other month, please call 516-801-3401 or email museum@seacliff-ny.gov for further information.
Without our wonderful docents, the museum could not be up and running. Please join our group if you are interested in volunteering.