Special Events & Programs

Watch Hill’s homes are an essential part of the community’s identity and coastal heritage. Many of these properties were built centuries ago with exceptional craftsmanship, yet they face increasing challenges from aging materials, intense coastal conditions, and changing weather patterns. This educational presentation, designed for both full time residents and seasonal homeowners, focuses on responsible stewardship: how thoughtful maintenance, resilience planning, and appropriate protection work together to help preserve older homes while respecting their important history and character.

Join Catherine Shotick, inaugural director of the highly anticipated Westerly Museum of American Impressionism as she discusses how artists working along the Northeast coast shaped a distinctly American interpretation of Impressionism. Drawing from works in the museum’s collection, she examines key artist colonies—from Ogunquit, Maine, to Cape Ann, Old Lyme, and coastal Rhode Island—where painters responded directly to the region’s light, atmosphere, and seasonal rhythms.  Through selected case studies, the presentation considers how place, community, and environment informed both subject matter and technique, resulting in paintings that are at once regionally grounded and central to the broader narrative of American art.  

Dr. J. Douglas Nisbet Rhode Island Acadamy of Wine, Providence, RI