Katharine "Kotty" Wangler
Katharine "Kotty" Bowen first came to Woodstock in the 1920s as a young woman accompanied by a chaperone. Born in Pottsville, Pennsylvania in 1896, she married Albert C. Wangler in Woodstock in 1935 and remained in Woodstock until her death in 1996 at 100 years of age.
Although not an artist herself, Kotty was an avid supporter of both arts and crafts and ran the Woodstock Guild of Craftsmen's gift shop for over 40 years.
Kotty bequeathed funds to the Town of Woodstock for the purpose of "enhancing the arts in Woodstock." In accepting these funds, Jeremy Wilber, then Supervisor of the Town of Woodstock, committed to her estate, on behalf of the Town of Woodstock, to maintain on the Town's website a gallery of images of paintings by Woodstock 20th century painters. This continued display of their work honors, into the future, their significance to the Town Woodstock becoming a Colony of the Arts.
The Town is grateful for Kotty's generosity and dedicates this gallery to her memory. This gallery was curated in 2000 by Fern Malkine-Falvey, of the Town of Woodstock, with the Grand Opening of this On-Line Gallery on the Town of Woodstock's woodstockny.org website on May 28, 2001.
This statement of the history of this page was provided by Fern Malkine-Falvey in 2000, with edits by Laura Ricci, clarifying its continued relevance to the woodstockny.gov website deployed in 2025.
Katherine "Kotty" Wangler
The information that follows was offered by Fern Malkine-Falvey on October 10, 2000.
Introduction
The first work to be exhibited in this permanent collection of the Katharine "Kotty" Wangler On-line Gallery is a wide range of paintings that have been created by Woodstock artists over the last century. In accordance with the Town's mandate, 100 painters who have all lived and worked in Woodstock during at least one artistic period for which they are known are presented here. They come from diverse cultural backgrounds. Some are living, while some are no longer with us. Some are world famous; others are primarily known regionally. Some are virtually self-taught, while others have attended the most prestigious art academies in the world. All have been selected for the one thing they possess in common: a compelling artistic vision.
Well over 1,000 painters with public careers have lived and worked in Woodstock over the last century. As this project could not include them all, we have done what we could to present as wide a variety as possible. The Town hopes to make this a "living" gallery where additional "wings" will include more painters, as well as sculptors, printmakers, photographers, and other artists.
Statement from the Curator
When I was initially approached about curating this on-line gallery, I found the prospect of choosing only 100 painters from so many to be truly daunting. Having lived in Woodstock for nearly half a century, I was acutely aware of all the painters I would not be able to include, at least for now. At best, all I could hope to offer was a beginning.
While I did use traditional, objective criteria in my determination of which painters I would include—such as a painter being mentioned in art histories, having works in museum collections, receiving critical acclaim for exhibitions, and being discussed in the art press—I also included some painters that do not meet the traditional criteria, but whom I, and others have long considered under-appreciated, and for whom I have personal admiration.
Although I sought the opinion of a diverse group of well-informed individuals, knowledgeable on the subject of art in Woodstock, and tried to take into account the specific concerns of each painter or their heirs, in the end I am solely responsible for both the painters and paintings chosen for this site.
Finally, I would like to thank Tram Combs, art scholar, for his generous assistance throughout this project. I would also like to thank Mikhail Horowitz, former arts editor of the Woodstock Times, Linda Freaney, director of the Woodstock Artists Association Permanent Collection, the staff of the Historical Society of Woodstock, as well as all the painters, heirs, collectors, galleries, and museums whose gracious participation greatly enhanced the quality of this endeavor.
Fern Malkine-Falvey, Curator
Town of Woodstock, New York
October 10, 2000
FAQs:
May I put unaltered images or text from the Town of Woodstock Katharine Kotty Wangler On-Line Gallery on a file server at my school or museum?
Yes, if there is no charge for the user and if electronic distribution is of limited term to your school or museum only. The images must remain unaltered. All of the accompanying caption information must be included without alteration, and the citation should include the URL.
May I put unaltered images or text from the Town of Woodstock Katharine Kotty Wangler On-Line Gallery on my personal Web Site?
Yes, so long as the site takes in no advertisements and no sponsors, does not charge a fee for services, and does not offer any product or service for sale. The images must remain unaltered. All of the accompanying caption information must be included without alteration, and the citation should include the URL.
May I put images or text from the Town of Woodstock Katharine Kotty Wangler On-Line Gallery on a CD-ROM, public domain or otherwise?
No.
May I print selected images or text excerpts from the Town of Woodstock Katharine Kotty Wangler On-Line Gallery for a school report?
Yes, if it is a personal or academic work, and not for publication in any medium. The images must remain unaltered. All of the accompanying caption information must be included without alteration. You should cite the source as you would any printed work; the citation should include the URL. This type of use is encouraged; all other forms of publication are expressly prohibited.
How do I obtain permission for other forms of publication?
Anyone wishing to use the Materials from the Town of Woodstock Katharine Kotty Wangler On-Line Gallery for purposes other than as authorized herein must obtain prior written approval from the estate of the artist, unless the duration of the artist's copyright has passed. Details on artist copyright protection and the duration of that protection can be found at www.copyright.gov/what-is-copyright/.
Images
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Abbott, Judy and Alderfer, Douglas: No Nukes Too
Angeloch, Robert: Summer Evening
Ault, George C.: Jane Street, Corner of Hudson
Avery, Milton: Reflections
Axel, Jane: Hamza El Din
Bachner, Barbara: Om
Bellows, George: Romanian Girl
Bender, Leslie: The Rabbi In Saturn
Blanch, Arnold: Two Women
Blanch, Lucile: Hervey's Hickory
Blitzer, Bobby: Change
Brokenshaw, Brock: Sunflowers in Ceramic Bowl
Bromberg, Manuel: College Union Mural North Carolina State University
Buhalis, Nicholas: Composition
Cantine, Jo: Young Negro Girl
Carey, Marty: Spring Awakening
Carlson, John F.: Across the Meadows
Chanler, Robert Winthrop: Parody of Fauve Painters in the Armory Show
Chase, Frank Swift: Autumn Lights
Chavez, Eduardo: Arroyo Hondo
Cramer, Florence Balin: Self-Portrait
Cramer, Konrad: Barns and Corner Porch
Crampton, Rollin: Black Axis
Crist, Richard: Tickseed
Currie, Bruce: Woman at Her Bath
Dasburg, Andrew: Landscape Near Woodstock NY
de Diego, Julio: Heroic Figures and Visitor
Densen, Michael: Catskill Fog
Epstein, Yale: Nexus Series "Journey"
Ernst, John: Untitled
Fenton, John: The School Master
Fiene, Ernest: Village Scene
Fischer, Anton Otto: Songs of Home
Fortess, Karl: Untitled
Frank, Mary: At the Point of Waking
Frazier, Ernest: Anti-War
Gamet, Christeen: The Lane
Goetz, Mary Anna: Ashokan in Winter
Gottlieb, Harry: Untitled (The Rondout)
Greenwood, Marion: Untitled (Tarascan Indians)
Grimm, Calvin: The Bay Beyond Your Orchard Canopy II
Guston, Philip: Roma
Harrison, Birge: Sunrise in Winter
Hartman, Rosella: Big Cats
Jamison, Judith: Contemplation
Jones, Jane: Self-Portrait
Jones, Wendell: Landscape with Salamander
Klitgaard, Georgina: Bringing Home the Tree
Knight, Frederic: Fall in the Canyon
Kuniyoshi, Yasuo: Adam and Eve (The Fall of Man)
Laufman, Sidney: Landscape Mallorca
Lee, Doris: Spillway
Lindin, Carl Eric: Ojai Moon
Lokos, Stefan: Children of the World
London, Frank: Tools of Achievement
Ludins, Eugene: Interlude
Magafan, Ethel: Evening Stillness
Magafan, Jenne: Child Playing
Maguire, Douglas: Catskill Creek
Malkine, Georges A.: Nicole
Marsicano, Nicholas: Horizon Gazing
Martin, Fletcher: Good at the Gate
Mattson, Henry: Seascape
McFee, Henry Lee: Glass Jar with Summer Squash
Michel, Sally: Reclining Nude
Millman, Edward: Blue Incident
Nieves, Ellen: The Center
Oriel, Jane: Yankeetown Pond
Orsini, Robert: Ashokan Views
Pantell, Richard: Rendez-vous
Parker, Zulma Steele: November
Petrov, Dimitri: Figures, Mendelian
Pike, John: October Rain
Plate, Walter: Sentinel Number 4
Pollet, Joseph: Landscape with Ford
Refregier, Anton: I'm Doing Fine
Reiss, F. Winold: Turtle and Middle Rider
Rosen, Charles: The Blacksmith Shop
Ruellan, Andree: Simone
Scarlett, Rolph: Composition
Schmidt, Katherine: The Wastepaper Basket
Schumacher, William: Butterflies
Segalman, Richard: Dusk
Sirugo, Sal: Composition M-239
Smith, Judson: Deserted Mill
Snyder, Joan: Falling Blossoms
Speicher, Eugene: Portrait of a French Girl
Steffen, Bernard: Blue Spin
Szyszka, Roswita: Reverie
Tannin, Harriet: Self-Portrait
Taylor, John: The Tower
Tomlin, Bradley Walker: Horse
Uehara, Carole: The Garden
Van Rijn, Eva: French Pewter
Wachtel, Roman: Diptych
Wickiser, Ralph: Four Seasons-Spring
Williams, Peggy Dodds: Clowns
Wilson, Reginald: Moon and Boat
Wiltz, Arnold: Ashokan Dam
Zhang, Hongnian: Tibetan Madonna