It was another successful year for the Chadds Ford Elementary School Art Sale and Show. More than 1,000 people passed through the art-filled gymnasium/auditorium buying more than $70,000 worth of art, with 30 percent of that gross going to the PTO for educational enrichment programs.
This year’s event was the 64th at the school. Betsy Wyeth, wife of artist Andrew Wyeth, started the tradition even before their son Jamie was a student at CFES.
Event co-chairperson Luci McClure explained both the need for and the ongoing appeal of the show.
“It’s a great community event,” she said during the Friday night reception. “Three-quarters of [the PTO’s] budget comes from the funds that we garner here at the art show.”
In addition to the 30 percent the PTO gets from individual art sales, it also gets 100 percent of the sales from items raffled off.
McClure said money from past shows helped the PTO buy Smart Boards and voice amplification systems for the classrooms, teacher grants and pay for special assemblies.
As beneficial as the show is for the school and PTO, it’s also a boost for the artists. Among the 70 artists at this year’s event, most were returnees.
One such artist is Len Garon. He’s been showing at CFES for 35 years. He keeps coming back, he said, because “it’s a wonderful show.”
“The customers love to be here. The ladies who put this on are so enjoyable in their connection with the artists. They really care. They care about the school and they care about the art,” Garon said.
He added that it’s also a good show for his sales.
Other returnees are local artists Jerry and Nancy Dowling. They’ve been part of the CFES show for at least 10 years, Jerry Dowling said, adding that he likes to come for “the people, the friends, the food and the sales.” But their connection to the show is primarily through Nancy Dowling, a Chadds Ford native with a strong connection to the school and the local art scene.
In addition to her own art, there was that of her brother Jimmy Lynch. Lynch, who died several years ago, was an artist in his own right, but is known in the area as having palled around with and posing for Andrew and Jamie Wyeth.
She recalls when the show was part of the May Fair and remembers her brother winning an art contest at the time. There was also a plant sale so kids could buy flowers for their mothers.
“It was a big social event in Chadds Ford back in those days. [The art show] brings back a lot of good memories. And there’s the joy of the painting and being with other people,” she said.
While the show brings back many artists, it also attracts newcomers, keeping the imagery fresh. It has also changed over the years.
Andrea Pandolfi, who co-chaired the event with McClure, said the patrons are looking for a wider variety of style. The move is away from the traditional Southern Chester County farm scenes.
“There’s now a greater mix and that seems to really appeal to customers coming in now,” she said.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
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