By Julie McCay Turner
Connie Hanley was a talented Bedford artist known for her beautiful watercolors, her gardening skills, her family, and her generosity. Her daughter Carol Hanley Burnham gathered 25 of Connie’s paintings for a show that is on display in the Atrium Gallery of the Bedford Free Public Library through September 9. In an email, Burnham said, “We hope you enjoy these paintings as much as we do.
Connie Kearney met her future husband Jim Hanley when they were both students at the Vesper George School of Art in Boston; they were married for 59 years. “They continued their passion for many forms of art throughout their marriage,” Burnham said. “They traveled all over New England in search of that next inspiration. Jim always had his camera ready to help capture the beauty and details of Connie’s next work of art. Jim also learned the craft of matting and framing and framed many of the paintings [in the Library show].”
Click each image in the gallery below to see it at full size, and learn a bit about it:
Since coming to Bedford in 1957, Connie Hanley left an indelible mark on the town and its organizations. She was a devoted member of St. Michael’s Parish where she served as a Religious Education instructor and began the Parish’s Visitation Ministry more than20 years ago. According to her children she was a devoted mother, a loving Grammie and Great-Grammie, and a die-hard Red Sox fan. After a stint as a secretary for the Bedford Schools, she became the director of Bedford’s Adult Education program. In addition to gardening and creating beautiful watercolors, she enjoyed sewing and fishing.
Connie was a member of the Bedford Garden Club and the Bedford Arts and Crafts Societies in addition to affiliations with other organizations throughout the Northeast.
Susan Wingfield of the Bedford Garden Club noted Connie’s generosity in donating a quilt that was raffled by the Club on Bedford Day, and in 2004 she made the Club’s banner in celebration of the Town’s 275th birthday. She grew vegetables in the Community Gardens at the Jordan Conservation Land on Hartwell Road, and also helped to design the signs that mark the Garden Club’s plantings and islands and curves throughout the town.
Connie cared for the plantings in the Hayden Fountain, also known as the ‘watering trough’ on The Great Road at the corner of Springs Road until her move to a retirement community. As Civic Chairperson of the Garden Club, Jan Burnes appreciated Connie’s enthusiasm and hard work in caring for the installation. ”She requested her summer flowers to be red, white, and blue each year, which I was glad to get for her,” said Burnes. “[and] we still continue her traditional colors.” The fountain was recently moved a few feet further from the corner when new traffic signals were installed and the corner was reconfigured a bit, but the plants will be installed soon.
The Bedford Arts and Crafts Society joins in celebrating “the genius of Connie Hanley in this memorial show,” said BACS president Sylvia Mallory. “A dear personal friend to countless BACS members, Connie served as our president and enthusiastically promoted BACS activities through the years. She never failed to inspire us with her beautifully rendered work.”
In remembering Connie’s favorite subjects, one BACS member remarked that “she could take the simplest and most familiar sights from everyday life–a clothesline with brightly colored towels or a set of dilapidated wooden steps–and transform them into something memorable and magical. Another member marveled at Connie’s skill in rendering sharp, crisp details in her watercolors.
“Creating a tradition that lives on to this day, Connie devoted herself to establishing, in 1999, the first annual Regional Art Exhibit, a BACS-sponsored event that now occurs each year on Bedford Day,” said Mallory. “This year [2015] will mark the sixteenth anniversary of the show, which attracts entries from across Bedford and nearby communities. BACS thanks Connie for the legacy she left in the form of the regional art show.”
Together Connie & Jim Hanley raised 11 children, each with their own artistic talents. Many of the Hanley offspring and their spouses attended an artist’s reception at the library on Saturday, July 11: Tom and Kathy Hanley of Grand Rapids, MI; Connie and John Curran of Merrimac, MA; Kevin and Cindy Hanley of Lowell; Cathy and Brian Latina of Chelmsford; Maureen ‘Mo’ Hanley and Pete Lisiecki of Milton; Carol and John Burnham of East Sandwich; Jack and Katie Hanley of Abington; Jim Hanley and Sue Kazolias of South Boston; Brian and Cindi Hanley of Stoneham; Bob and Janine Hanley; Janine of Plymouth; and Mary Kate and Justin Ellenton of Ipswich. The family includes 24 grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
The works in the show were gathered from her children’s collections: each child received the work or works that their mother felt each would like the best. The show includes Before Chowder; Peggy’s Cove, 1992; Seen Better Days, 2003; Tide Up, 2003; Yesterday’s Stairs, 1998; Last Year’s Bonnet, 1994; The Waiting Line, 2000; Nantucket Geraniums, 1994; Easy Street Basin, Nantucket, 1996; Old Barn Window, Sconset, 1991; Murphy’s Pub Dingle, 1997; My Only Lonely Lily, 2004; Retired; Country Store Brewster; Dancing In The Wind, 2002; Back Yard Beauty, 2006; Exploding Hydrangea, 2005; Lovely Rose of Sharon, 2004; New England Winter, 1995; Bedford Landmark, 2003; Hoisting Sail, 2006; Once Upon a Time, 1999; Seven Thirty, 1999; Up Close At Motif #1, 2003; and Port Side Aft, 2004
Click this link to read Connie Hanley’s obituary, published on December 21, 2014. A memorial scholarship fund was established through the Bedford Arts and Crafts Society; to learn more, contact BACS at [email protected] or visit www.BACSMA.ORG.
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