Art Imitates Life: Freehold NJ is Open for Business

New Jersey-based artist, Mary Caruso signing one of her prints at Freehold Art Gallery.

Monmouth County, NJ: As the NYC/Metro area begins to slowly and cautiously reopen amid the new coronavirus pandemic, I've found a ray of sunshine and a breath of fresh air in an art world oasis.
I visited Mary Caruso Albert's show held at Freehold Art Gallery located at 7A West Main Street in Freehold Borough.  Mary, a co-member of Freehold Art Society, is a self-taught artist who has done a plethora of beautiful paintings featuring local NJ landmarks and subjects.

The subject of one of Caruso-Albert's paintings: The American Hotel as it looks today.

The American Hotel Painting & History
The above photo shows the subject as it looks today which is reminiscent of Mary's interpretation except that the table umbrellas are no longer blue but red. The tables are the same as is the color of the hotel building itself.  


The American Hotel first opened in 1824 as a stagecoach stop in Freehold which is the County Seat of Monmouth.  It was expanded in 1928 and served as a hotel-restaurant and tavern until 2004. In 2006 it was almost completely destroyed by fire, save the facade.  It reopened in 2009 after a 3.5 million dollar renovation as a banquet hall, hotel, restaurant, and tavern.  The American Hotel is a prominent part of Downtown Freehold's "Restaurant Row" offering alfresco dining and is open for business right now.

Freehold Borough's "Restaurant Row" offers excellent outdoor dining.

I've attended many events at The American Hotel's banquet rooms over the years and it remains one of my favorite spots in Monmouth County.

Caruso-Albert's  watercolor painting: American Hotel

American Hotel Painting: SOLD
Caruso-Albert's work has long been a favorite of mine among our local artists, however her American Hotel painting was on my list to purchase for some time.  So you can only imagine my chagrin when I attended her "Meet and Greet" only to find an orange SOLD sticker placed on it!  Why did I wait so long? Well, I was still able to purchase a print of this painting which Mary personally signed the back of.  So, I was very happy (as you can see below) with that consolation.  See more of Mary Caruso-Albert's custom watercolor paintings online at www.mcaruso-albert.com.

Visit Freehold Art Gallery to explore more local talented artists' work depicting familiar and abstract subjects.

My artist- signed print. "American Hotel" is all MINE!

Dress by Lilly Pulitzer