Supporting local artists
at our Library

With the help of generous grants from the Central New York Library Resources Council, the New Woodstock Free Library has been able to digitize a number of collections of local artwork. These collections – which include paintings, sculpture, etchings, and more – can be enjoyed by visiting our New York Heritage Digital Collections page at  https://nyheritage.org/contributors/new-woodstock-free-library.

The New Woodstock Free Library has a dedicated Exhibits Room where we display works by local and regional artists in a variety of media. 

Upcoming Exhibits include:

The Library is privileged to be the home of more than 60 works of art by Central New York artist Gordon Francis Muck (1926-1994). Many of these pieces were donated by Muck himself, as well as his friends, and his widow Bertha Ann (Shapley) Muck.

Gordon Muck was born on October 9, 1926, in Syracuse, New York to Francis Muck and Mary (Steinger) Muck. He attended Syracuse public schools, including Webster Elementary School, Grant Junior High, and North High School. He attended Syracuse University on an Academic Art scholarship and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and a Master of Fine Arts degree there.

He taught at DeRuyter Central School (1948-1955) and Nottingham High School (1956-1960), eventually becoming the Art Supervisor for the Syracuse School District from 1961 to 1965. He served as the Art Department Chairman for Fayetteville-Manlius Schools from 1965 to 1981. In addition to his teaching appointments, he also worked as an art critic for the Syracuse Post-Standard and as an antique dealer.

Muck and his wife opened their own art gallery on Main Street in New Woodstock in 1959, in a 13-room Greek Revival house. The Pillar Gallery was described as a “mecca for art lovers” by the Syracuse Post-Standard in 1968. 

The 1979 Fayetteville-Manlius yearbook was dedicated to Muck, “a teacher at this school who has inspired many students to excel in the art field. Excitement and enthusiasm have made many of his art classes interesting and always worthwhile. Because of his unusual approach to teaching he has given the Fayetteville-Manlius schools the honor of being the recipient of hundreds of scholastic art awards… He is not only a teacher but a friend of his students.”

Gordon Muck died on January 30, 1994, in Hamilton, New York. He is buried in the New Woodstock Cemetery, where services were conducted on May 12, 1994. 

Click here to view a scrapbook created by Nancy Edwards, one of Muck’s former students.

Click here to view the digitized copies of the library’s Muck collection.

Please visit the Library to see our permanent collection of Muck’s original works.