Salon des Tree was a series of three renegade art exhibits that took place in 1995 and 1996 in New York City's Central Park. The events were organized by artists Austin Ackles and Mary Jones, and were held in the heavily wooded rambles section of the park without permits or approval from park officials. Ackles and Jones invited well-known and emerging artists working in various mediums to participate. Word of the upcoming event spread among the art community, and it was widely believed that the event was also open to any artist who wished to participate. Possibly due to the remote location, all three events took place without interference by park rangers.
A mix of artists, art dealers, collectors and journalists attended the events that have been described as "an art fair in the wild." Notable attendees included gallerists Alexandra and Paul Kasmin, Earl McGrath, Bill Maynes, David Maupin of Lehmann Maupin Gallery, Ron Warren of Mary Boone Gallery, Harley Baldwin of Aspen Colorado's Baldwin Gallery, Kasmin Gallery's Frederick Mouraux, Mark Baron and Elise Boisante of Baron/Boisante Editions, CBC journalist Maurice Tourigny, and the artists Allen Wiener, Peter Soriano [1], Not Vital, and Suzanne McClelland.
The first event was held on June 7, 1995. Participating artists included: Austin Ackles, Nancy Brett, Michele Chiossi [2], Ricky Clifton, Shoshana Dentz, John Ebeling, Seth Ferris, Mary Jones, Ashley King, Scott Lifshutz, Nancy Lorenz, Patty Martori, Dona Nelson, John Newsom, Peggy Preheim, Elliott Puckette, Nicolas Rule, Calvin Seibert, Jonathan Seliger, Ivan Vera and William Wood.
The second event was held on October 15, 1995. Participating artists included: Richmond Burton, Michele Chiossi, Peter Coe, Cora Cohen [3], Shoshana Dentz, Max Estenger, Seth Ferris, Gregory Foley, Ambrose Ford (graphics), Hugo Guinness, Brownie Johnson, Mary Jones, Karen Kilimnik, Janice Krasnow, Lauren Lesko, Nancy Lorenz, Elliott Puckette, Nicolas Rule, Monique Safford, Jean Seinberg, Jonathan Seliger, Amanda Trager, James Vance, Ivan Vera, Eric Wolf, Jean Wolff and William Wood.
The third and final event was held on June 12, 1996. Participating artists included: Joe Amrhein, Joan Banach, Richmond Burton, Amanda Church, Shoshanna Dentz, Joanne Greenbaum, Katurah Hutcheson, John Jurayj, Leslie Kamen, Harriet Korman, Jill Levine, Marilla Palmer, Andrew Radcliffe, Hiram Rodriguez-Mora, Brent Rumage, Mary Schwab, Kim Sobel [4], Peter Soriano, Melanie Taylor, Eric Wolf and Karl Xtravaganza.