Art Show
2025 Tewksbury Best in Show, Fox Hill Road, by Laurie Maher
History of the Art Show
by Stephanie V.R. KovenTewksbury Historical Society Charter Member
Cynthia McAdoo loved her home in Tewksbury Township. It was high on the top of Fox Hill Road overlooking the spectacular country of Oldwick, Lamington and beyond where she and her husband, Mac (Francis), raised their family, never to leave.
Things in and around Tewksbury began to change with time and the completion of Route 78 during the late seventies and early eighties. Farms started to break up and developers were slowly discovering this beautiful jewel made up of farms that had been in families for generations, as well as those found by people lucky enough to have discovered Tewksbury Township on their own: stone arch bridges; churches set in amazing, beautiful spaces; pretty, quaint villages; roads bordered by wild, orange daylilies following along the many streams; fields full of cows, sheep and horses; thick woods of huge trees filled with all kinds of wildlife; our own Hell Mountain; tons of history and great people!
Cynthia, an artist herself, had an idea to launch an art show and rally artists to paint scenes here in Tewksbury with the idea of saving these parts of our Township on canvas through art before it was lost forever. All this came together in 1989 when The Art Show was sponsored by Cynthia’s church, the Lamington Presbyterian Church.
Then, in 1990, under Cynthia’s guidance, it became The Tewksbury Historical Society Art Show, still held at the Lamington Presbyterian Church and chaired by Cynthia for three years. This first show (1990) was held for two days in mid-October with sixty-five artists entering ninety-eight works of which forty-two sold. There were two hundred and forty-four attendees! A grand reception was held on the first evening.
The Show moved to the Zion Lutheran Church Administration and School building on Church Street/Vliettown Road in November of 1993 and was extended to three days.
We had use of a nice space on the lower level of the old building. A door opened to a gravel parking lot where the entrance hall, meeting room and kitchen of the Zion Lutheran Church Christian Education Building (CEB) now stands. A small tent decorated with bittersweet around the top edges, pumpkins, baskets of apples and cherry chrysanthemums, welcomed guests along with hors d’oeuvres brought by members and the Society’s famous strawberry punch!
The Show was expanded to four days in 1995 with two changes. It was our first Juried Show and it was to be themed.
The Fairmount Presbyterian Church School House became our home in 1996 and 1997 while the construction of the addition to the Zion’s Christian Education Building in Oldwick was taking place. At this time we started to widen our scope to afford artists more freedom of subjects.
In 2005 the Show was dedicated to Marion Katnack, a former member of the Society who had co-chaired the Tewksbury Historical Society Art Show with her good friend and fellow teacher, Barbara Olsen. She was a long-time resident and beloved teacher at the Old Turnpike School. An award was established in her name in 2008 titled “Best Landscape in Tewksbury”.
The Art Show continued along the same vein, however the idea of having a theme for each Show was dropped. Then in 2013 we lost Mary Elizabeth Young, who came from an old Tewksbury family and had chaired the Art Show, making so many of our Receptions special with her music. Year after year, she managed, somehow, to get her huge, beautiful and fragile harp in and out of her car, in and out of the CEB and play during the entire two hours while people wandered around looking at the paintings, small works and portfolios. That year the Show was dedicated to her.
We did not hold the Art Show in 2015 and 2016. It came back in 2017 with a new face! The Show began with a special “catered” Preview and Artist Reception on a Friday in late October/early November and continued through the next Saturday. It was a beautiful, huge success as it continues to be!
We were caught by Covid in 2020 but picked up on the same track in 2021 when sadly, we lost our wonderful, generous member and devoted treasurer of twenty-five years, Elsie Ehmann. Her husband Peter (P.J.) grew up in a very rural Tewksbury Township and this is where they wanted to stay and raise their children. Elsie and Peter were Charter Members of the Tewksbury Historical Society. Their magnificent barn was home not only to P.J.’s remarkable collection of cars but luckily, he was able to clear space for us to store large items used each year for the Art Show - exhibit panels, sandwich boards, signs and more, all of which are now stored in the Carriage House in Oldwick. What began in 1989 has grown into one of the region's most respected juried exhibitions. Over the years, hundreds of artists have shared their work, with exceptional pieces recognized through annual awards. We invite you to explore a selection of these award-winning works.
We did not hold the Art Show in 2015 and 2016. It came back in 2017 with a new face! The Show began with a special “catered” Preview and Artist Reception on a Friday in late October/early November and continued through the next Saturday. It was a beautiful, huge success as it continues to be!
We were caught by Covid in 2020 but picked up on the same track in 2021 when sadly, we lost our wonderful, generous member and devoted treasurer of twenty-five years, Elsie Ehmann. Her husband Peter (P.J.) grew up in a very rural Tewksbury Township and this is where they wanted to stay and raise their children. Elsie and Peter were Charter Members of the Tewksbury Historical Society. Their magnificent barn was home not only to P.J.’s remarkable collection of cars but luckily, he was able to clear space for us to store large items used each year for the Art Show - exhibit panels, sandwich boards, signs and more, all of which are now stored in the Carriage House in Oldwick. What began in 1989 has grown into one of the region's most respected juried exhibitions. Over the years, hundreds of artists have shared their work, with exceptional pieces recognized through annual awards. We invite you to explore a selection of these award-winning works.
Award Winners
Celebrate the creativity and talent of local and regional artists through a collection of award-winning artwork from past Tewksbury Community Art Shows.
View Award-Winning Artwork →