Ranches & Rolling Hills, an annual sale of western Marin County landscape art to benefit Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT), will take place on Saturday, May 16, and Sunday, May 17, 2009, at the Druid’s Hall on the Village Square in Nicasio, California. 

The show features more than 250 images of natural and working landscapes, including many of the family farms that have been permanently protected by MALT. The work of 40 outstanding artists is included in this significant West Coast exhibit.  

Ranches & Rolling Hills art also depicts other private farmlands as well as historic landscapes located within Point Reyes National Seashore—all of them reflecting the human and natural history that make West Marin such a special and beloved place.  

Ranches & Rolling Hills was celebrated in a 2008 book of the same name which showcases the art and provides a historical record of protected farmland in Marin. The book can be purchased at Bay Area bookstores or at www.malt.org.  

Curator Michael Whitt of Point Reyes Station co-founded Ranches & Rolling Hills in 1998, along with the late Ray Strong, dean of Santa Barbara's highly respected Oak Group of painters.   

Artists participating in the 2009 show include Marin painters Martha Borge, Christin Coy, Willard Dixon, Timothy Horn, Susan Hall, Richard Lindenberg, Wendy Schwartz, and Zee Zee Mott, along with Santa Barbara artists Arturo Tello, Sarah Vedder, Meredith Brooks Abbott, Whitney Brooks Abbott, Ward Walkup, and other members of the OakGroup. Marin County lithographs by Russell Chatham also will be available for purchase. 

Proceeds from art and book sales benefit MALT’s farmland preservation program, which provides a conservation alternative to the sale or subdivision of Marin farmland. Some of the Bay Area's most highly acclaimed dairy products and organic crops, including Cowgirl Creamery cheeses, Straus Family Creamery dairy products, and Point Reyes Original Blue Cheese are produced from farmland protected by MALT conservation easements.   

The Ranches & Rolling Hills Landscape Art Show and Sale is open to the public at no charge from 2–5 P.M. on Saturday, May 16, and from 10 A.M.–4 P.M. on Sunday, May 17. For information, visit www.malt.org or phone 415-663-1158.