What is it about ‘New England’ as both a setting and a subject—that has captured Impressionist painters’ attention for over a century? Artist colonies popped up in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut in the late 19th century, attracting some of America’s best-known painters. Gloucester, Provincetown, Old Lyme, Ogunquit, and others continue to have thriving local art communities today. On display in the Special Exhibitions Gallery, this exhibition presents Impressionist paintings (historical and contemporary) inspired by New England: its natural beauty through the seasons, its people, its small towns, and its glorious light. Includes works by Frank Weston Benson, Childe Hassam, Charles Hawthorne, Henry Hensche, Frank Vining Smith, John Henry Twachtman, Gertrude Fiske, Matilda Browne, Jane Peterson, Lois Griffel, Charles Ebert, Sheila Benzer, John Whorf, Carol Westcott, Sam Barber, Willard Metcalf, Aldro Hibbard, and more.

Banner image: Wellfleet Sunset, Frank Vining Smith, (1879-1962), 1950, oil on masonite, collection of Heritage Museums & Gardens

Location: Special Exhibits Gallery