About the Museum
The Madoo Conservancy is a magical oasis set on an enchanting two-acre landscape in the heart of Sagaponack.
In 1967, artist, writer and gardener Robert Dash purchased two acres of land in Sagaponack, which he called Madoo, meaning “my dove” in old Scottish. The artist, writer, and gardener spent the next 46 years living and working on this historic property, developing an encyclopedia of organic gardening in compositions as bold, and unique as his paintings. In this place, he was freely devoted to painting, poetry, gardening; every endeavor approached with the same intensity of acute exploration and experimentation. Madoo became a forum for creative discourse and critique, marked by the Arcadian confluence of art, music, literature and poetry—and a refuge for Dash’s literary and artist contemporaries.
The Madoo Conservancy was organized as a 501 (c) 3 in 1993 in order to preserve these internationally recognized gardens. In the intervening years Madoo has become a public garden, featuring Tudor, High Renaissance, early Greek, as well as Oriental influences, and is currently dedicated to the study, preservation, and enhancement of this property.
Now on the National Register of Historic Places, Madoo’s residences also display interiors of exceptional and distinctive design. The oldest structure, a circa 1740 barn, now serves as an exhibition space as well as a gathering place for lectures, performances, film screenings, and art classes for both children and adults. At Madoo, a unique living tribute to the artistic imagination of its founder, we seek to continually engage, educate, and inspire our visitors within this ever-changing, entirely organic environment.
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