The Williams S. Hart Museum located in Hart Park in Santa Clarita will host an Open House, “Exploring the Art at Hart,” on Sunday, Nov. 19, from 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Event attendees of all ages will have the opportunity to explore how artists worked and participate in hands-on activities focused on painting and sculpture.

Hart Museum administrator, Margi Bertram, says “Santa Clarita’s famous historical figure and silent film star, William S. Hart, had a great eye for art and acquired an impressive collection containing excellent examples of Western art. The Museum will be honoring this interest by opening up the Mansion for a variety of free art related activities for the public.”

At the event, museum staff will provide information about what to look for when viewing art and explain how and why many of the art works in the Mansion tell stories. There will be hands-on activities where one can learn about and practice some of the techniques used by artists to achieve an artistic effect.
One activity will focus on figuring out if a particular painting is real or a fake. Common features in paintings by one of Hart’s favorite Western artists, Charles M. Russell will be shared and participants will be asked for help in analyzing a painting to figure out, “Is this a real Russell? Why or why not?”
Other activity stations will include watercolor painting techniques, live model sketching, and molding wax figures. There will be an artwork bingo game played inside Hart Mansion. The Mansion will be open for exploration between 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.

The William S. Hart Mansion is located at the top of the hill in Hart Park in Santa Clarita. Parking passes for the lot behind the Mansion are available for those individuals unable to walk up the nature trail to the Mansion. A pass may be obtained at the Hart Park Office, Trading Post, or by calling the Museum at 661-254-4584.

If you would like more information about this event, please contact the Hart Museum at 661-254-4584.