Simsbury Land Trust to Benefit from Art Auction

Fine artist Kate Emery is auctioning an original oil painting to benefit the Simsbury Land Trust and its efforts to preserve open spaces. The vibrant landscape painting, Cathles Overlook, depicts the view from the ridgetop within the land trust’s 47-acre Cathles property. Bids will be accepted online at KateEmery.com/auctions through 11:59 p.m. on July 31, 2020.

The 16x20-inch painting is one of several recent works inspired by the Farmington-based artist’s renewed appreciation for local vistas. “While some of my plans for more far-flung travel have been curtailed, I am grateful for the doors it has opened to exploring some of the treasures we have close to home,” says Emery. “This auction is my way of thanking land donors and the Simsbury Land Trust for protecting cherished places not only for us but for future generations,” she says.

A second-career artist who works full-time from her Farmington Valley studio, Emery partners with charitable organizations so that each of her works sold benefits a community cause. “I’ve always wanted my work to make a difference,” says Emery, who founded The Walker Group, a Farmington-based technology and digital marketing services firm that donates one-third of any distributed profits to community projects. She also established reSET, a Hartford-based nonprofit that seeks to advance the social enterprise sector in the state by encouraging nontraditional entrepreneurs who wish to use business as an engine for solving community or environmental problems.

“I’m excited to be able to support these types of efforts through my art, as well,” says Emery, who is actively seeking collaborations with nonprofits that want to raise funds in creative ways.

Emery will donate 75 percent of the price realized for her Cathles Overlook painting, valued at $700, to the Simsbury Land Trust, which has protected 35 parcels—more than 1,100 acres of farmlands, traprock ridges, wetland habitats and scenic vistas—since it was founded in 1976. Interested bidders may see the painting on the artist’s website (KateEmery.com).