Fire Island Pines Arts Project

David Baker, pianist and composer of Broadway musical scores, wrote and produced musicals in the Pines. Working with FIPPOA, he wrote and staged “Pines Needles” in 1981. Bill Henckley, David’s partner, designed and built sets for those early shows. Sylvan Cole, an internationally recognized art dealer who helped foster the explosion of printmaking and print collecting in the Unites States, was also a historic figure in the growth of the arts in the Pines. John Laub painted landscapes in Fire Island and throughout the northeast. John, working with FIPPOA, produced art shows in the Pines. Tired of working with FIPPOA, David, Bill, Sylvan, and John, founded the Fire Island Pines Arts Project in the summer of 1986. Setting up a table in the harbor on Labor Day weekend, Bill and Sylvan sold membership in the nascent Arts Project.