Blithewood Garden Panel Discussion, Documentary Premiere, and Self-Guided Garden Tours Hosted on Sunday, April 23

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.—On Sunday, April 23, the Friends of Blithewood Garden, the Garden Conservancy, and Bard College will host “Vision & View: Creating a Classical Landscape on the Hudson,” a panel discussion and film premiere focusing on the rehabilitation of the historic Blithewood Garden at Bard College. The event takes place from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Levy Economics Institute at Bard College and will host a wine and cheese reception before the discussion and screening, followed by self-guided garden tours. The fee is $25 for Garden Conservancy members, $30 for nonmembers. Reservations are required. Visit bard.edu/arboretum/gardens/blithewood.  

Blithewood Garden is considered a nationally significant Beaux Arts, Italianate garden with important connections to the evolution of American landscape design and is one of the few intact Hudson River estate gardens that remain from the Gilded Age. Bard College has partnered with the Garden Conservancy, a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to preserve and share America’s gardens, on the restoration of Blithewood Garden. 

The panel discussion will examine the history of Blithewood and other Gilded Age estates in the Hudson River Valley, addressing their significance to local and national history as well as the challenges of preserving these spaces. It begins at 2:30 p.m. and features historic preservation expert Kurt Hirschberg, Associate Partner of Jan Hird Pokorny Associates, Harvey Flad, Professor Emeritus of Vassar College, Dimitri Stratis of the National Park Service for the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site, and Amy Parrella ’99, Director of Horticulture & Arboretum at Bard College. James Brayton Hall, President and CEO of The Garden Conservancy, will lead the conversation.  The documentary film, featuring Bard alumna and award-winning actress Blythe Danner ‘65, will screen after the discussion and explores Blithewood’s rich preservation story. 
 
About Bard College
Founded in 1860, Bard College is a four-year residential college of the liberal arts and sciences located 90 miles north of New York City. With the addition of the Montgomery Place estate, Bard’s campus consists of nearly 1,000 parklike acres in the Hudson River Valley. It offers bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, and bachelor of music degrees, with majors in nearly 40 academic programs; graduate degrees in 13 programs; eight early colleges; and numerous dual-degree programs nationally and internationally. Building on its 159-year history as a competitive and innovative undergraduate institution, Bard College has expanded its mission as a private institution acting in the public interest across the country and around the world to meet broader student needs and increase access to liberal arts education. The undergraduate program at our main campus in upstate New York has a reputation for scholarly excellence, a focus on the arts, and civic engagement. Bard is committed to enriching culture, public life, and democratic discourse by training tomorrow’s thought leaders. For more information about Bard College, visit bard.edu.
 

This event was last updated on 03-31-2023

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