Although midsummer tends to be a quiet time for the urban art world, it’s when things heat up among the culturati in the Hamptons. With its long tradition of art and patronage, the popular Long Island escape has much more to offer than sandy beaches.

Go:

ArtHamptons
What: With SCOPE Hamptons called off, ArtHamptons holds down the fort this year on the South Fork, with 68 galleries selling everything from vintage photography to contemporary American art, priced from $3,000 to $3 million.
When: July 10 to 12
Where: The Bridgehampton Historical Society grounds
HIGHLIGHTS: Waterhouse & Dodd, of London, is crossing the Atlantic with a variety of fine art in tow, including photo collages by the contemporary French artist Jean-François Rauzier and a still life by the 19th-century American painter Severin Roesen. • New screen prints from Donald Sultan, such as Eight Whites, Oct 30 2008, will be available at the Nikola Rukaj Gallery booth. • The 85-year-old artist Jane Wilson, who has lived since the 1960s in a Watermill carriage house with her husband, the renowned writer and photographer John Jonas Gruen, will receive the fair’s lifetime-achievement award for painting. "I’m fixated on the atmosphere and the light at the shore," says Wilson. "It’s wonderful to be on the edge of a continent." • Wilson’s works will be available at the booth of New York’s DC Moore gallery. "There’s a leisurely pace out there," says DC Moore director Edward Deluca, who notes that Hamptons collectors tend to favor the gallery’s specialty: top-notch American art. • On the 9th, don’t miss the opening-night gala, where Earth Fireworks, a 1996 silkscreen by Jennifer Bartlett, will be auctioned, with proceeds going to Guild Hall, the East End’s renowned theater and museum.

The 16th Annual Watermill Center Benefit
What: It’s simply the biggest party the Hamptons has to offer.
When: July 25
HIGHLIGHTS: "If people cut out one or two benefits this summer, it’s not going to be us," says Jörn Weisbrodt, creative director of the Watermill Center, which was founded by the visual artist and director Robert Wilson in 1992 to foster innovation in the performing arts. "We always have a theme, and we invite young artists to create site-specific installations or performances." This year’s theme is "Inferno," and participants at the event, which is co-chaired by Marina Abramovic, Kim Cattrall and Jeff Koons, include such Taiwanese artists as Young-Hsien Chen and Chinen Jung Lin. • The dinner, for which Weisbrodt says table sales have been unusually strong, kicks off with an auction of contemporary artworks, among them pieces by William Kentridge and Elizabeth Peyton, conducted by Simon de Pury • If you can’t make the benefit, the center will be holding other events later in the season. The center’s annual open house, which gives visitors an opportunity to view the results of the summer workshop, is on August 15. And on August 29, Norah Jones, Rufus Wainwright and Martha Wainwright will sing together for the first time in the Last Song of Summer concert.

Stay:

THE MAIDSTONE
"Out here, almost everyone has his own place," says Weisbrodt. But for those who can’t crash at a friend’s estate, he suggests this inn on East Hampton’s village green. Widely known as one of the best on the Island, this small luxury property has the traditional 19th-century exterior common to the area, but the interior reflects its owners’ Scandinavian heritage: vintage Svenskt Tenn upholstery abounds, and each of the 19 rooms has furniture from such Swedish designers as Jantze Brogård Asshoff.
207 Main Street
East Hampton
631-324-5006
Rates: $450-$995
themaidstone.com

SOUTHAMPTON INN
Rick Friedman, the director of ArtHamptons, calls this well-appointed inn the nicest in the Hamptons. Situated at the edge of Cooper’s Beach, the Tudor-style mansion is certainly one of the area’s largest hotels, with 90 rooms and five acres of manicured green lawn. In addition to its convenient location, there is an outdoor pool and all-weather tennis courts.
91 Hill Street
Southampton
631-283-6500
Rates: $279-$489
southamptoninn.com