Press Contact:

Susan Navarre, Executive Director

Brookline Arts Center

617-566-5715

www.brooklineartscenter.com

Photos available.

Interviews available:

Mim and Barney Berliner, founders

Michael Grogan

Lenore Sempert, President, Brookline Arts Center

Auction Expert Michael Grogan Offers Roadshow-Style Appraisals

to Partygoers at Brookline Arts Center’s 45^th Anniversary Celebration

(Brookline, MA -- April 6, 2009) What makes some art exciting for collectors? The beauty of the art, the intrigue in artists’ life stories, or the opportunity to find something rare and valuable? Most collectors admit that all three are important.

Guests at the Brookline Arts Center’s 45^th Anniversary Celebration and Founders Fund Kick Off on Saturday, May 9, will celebrate the Brookline Arts Center and all it accomplishes for art education. But they will also be part of a treasure hunt: Michael Grogan, the President of the highly-respected Grogan and Company and an expert on public television’s “Antiques Roadshow”, will be on hand to provide appraisals for artworks brought by the guests.

According to BAC board member Manika Srivastav, the organizer of the gala celebration, “ We cannot help but wonder: Will the night end up featuring an unknown masterpiece? Will Michael Grogan spot a treasure whose value and provenance were unknown, until tonight?”

With over 30 years of art market experience, Grogan has also been the Director of Sotheby’s Arcade Auctions, Company Vice President, and the Director of Sotheby’s Appraisal Company. Grogan has also given many lectures on the subject of fine arts and antiques at auction, and is a regular expert guest on PBS’s “Antiques Roadshow” and Channel 7’s “Trash or Treasure” segments.

The historic Marble Room of Wheelock College’s recently renovated Wightman Mansion will be the setting for a delightful evening celebrating the 45^th Anniversary of the Brookline Arts Center’s founding in 1964. This lovely event will provide guests an opportunity to chat with Grogan, to meet original founders of the Brookline Arts Center, and to see an exciting selection of artworks and antiques from local collections.

For information on tickets to the May 9 event, and information on the informal evaluation and appraisal, contact the Brookline Arts Center at 617-566-5715 or visit www.brooklineartscenter.com on the web.

WHO: Brookline Arts Center

WHAT: 45^th Anniversary Celebration and Founders Fund Kick Off

WHEN: Saturday, May 9, 2009, 7 to 10 p.m.

WHERE: Wightman Mansion, Marble Room, Wheelock College, 43 Hawes Street, Brookline

TICKETS: Available in advance or at the door ($75.00 per person) Call 617-566-5715

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About the Brookline Arts Center: The Brookline Arts Center is located at 86 Monmouth Street, Brookline, at St. Mary’s Street. This property, which is listed in the State Register of Historic Places, has received a matching grant from the Massachusetts Preservation Projects Fund through the Massachusetts Historical Commission, Secretary of the Commonwealth, William Francis Galvin, Chairman. It is also supported in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. The 45^th Anniversary celebration is wheelchair accessible.