Join us for an exclusive lecture with Sam Van Aken at our final Creative Spirits event of 2025 on September 19 or at the free outdoor exhibition opening on September 20!

In spring 2025, The Planting Fields Stand took root as a unique living artwork, blending history, horticulture, and community engagement. This project, created by Planting Fields Foundation’s 2025 Catalyst artist Sam Van Aken, will introduce four multi-grafted fruit trees to the landscape of Planting Fields, each telling a story of the site’s agricultural evolution – from its origins as a Matinecock settlement to its time as the Coe family estate and beyond.

One tree will honor the region’s indigenous heritage, composed of fruit varieties cultivated by the Matinecock people. Another will reflect the estate’s history under the Coe family, featuring pear varieties recorded in their planting notes discovered in the Planting Fields Foundation archives. A third tree will highlight apple varieties from the first half of the 20th century, connecting to Long Island’s agricultural legacy. Completing the stand, a stone fruit tree will bear an array of peaches, plums, apricots, and cherries historically grown in the Oyster Bay area.

Each spring, the trees will bloom in striking shades of pink, white, and crimson, and each fall, they will bear fruit that predates European contact in Oyster Bay. More than just a visual and ecological landmark, The Planting Fields Stand will serve as a living archive, preserving the agricultural heritage of the site while inviting visitors to engage with its layered history.

This project invites visitors to rethink the industrialization of food and recognize fruit as cultural artifacts, rich with stories and connections to the past. Through this work, Van Aken creates an immersive experience where nature, history, and culture intersect, ensuring that the agricultural legacy of Planting Fields continues to flourish.

This outdoor installation is complemented by two indoor components. In the Visitor Center, explore the making of The Planting Fields Stand, including large-scale diagrams of the tree grafts and an introduction to the grafting tools and techniques used by the artist. To see more of Sam Van Aken’s work, visit the second floor of the Main House, where a companion exhibition features cyanotypes, herbarium specimens, and other pieces that provides deeper insight into the artist’s practice and the intersection of art, horticulture, and science. Guided and self-guided tours are available.

Fred Landman

Joanne Cassulo

About Sam Van Aken:
Sam Van Aken, born and raised in Reading, PA., grew up on a small dairy farm surrounded by cherry and peach orchards. Van Aken works beyond traditional modes of art making, crossing artistic genres and disciplines to develop new perspectives on such themes as communication, botany, agriculture, climatology, and the ever-increasing impact of technology. Sam Van Aken lives and works in Syracuse New York, where he is currently an Associate Professor in the School of Art at Syracuse University. His renowned Tree of 40 Fruit project has been exhibited and planted in locations across the country, challenging perceptions of biodiversity, history, and the environment.

About Catalyst
Every year since 2020, Planting Fields Foundation has commissioned artists to create site-specific art within the 409-acres of Planting Fields. We launched Catalyst to continue the legacy of artistic patronage the Coe family brought to Planting Fields over a century ago by inviting leading artists of their time to create work for the site. Through Catalyst, we challenge and expand our relationships with history as we explore this site from different points of view.

For any questions, please contact Collections and Exhibitions Manager, Emily Leger at eleger@plantingfields.org.