Visiting My Oil Uncharted II at Arnot Art Museum

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Arnot Art Museum in Elmira, New York recently opened their innovative exhibition 23 Pairs: Considering Compare and Contrast that matches 23 works from their own collection with 23 works borrowed from museums, galleries and private collections across America. I was honored to have my painting Uncharted II included in the show paired with the work of one of my heroes, the American Impressionist Willard Metcalf. 

My wife Alice and I drove up to Elmira over the weekend to visit the Arnot for our first time to see the show.




Christina Johnson who heads up Education for the Arnot kindly gave us a personal tour of the entire museum. Here she is with some of the signage at the beginning of the 23 Pairs show.






Here I am (grinning ear to ear) standing next to my painting with Metcalf's delicate oil The Hills in February at the left. The March issue of Fine Art Connoisseur magazine has a page devoted to the 23 Pairs show that reproduces Metcalf's and my painting. 





The Arnot Art Museum has an impressive permanent collection. One of my favorite canvases greets you when you first enter the Museum. By William-Adolphe Bouguereau (French 1825 - 1905) it is an allegory titled Art and Literature. In my opinion it is an unrivaled masterpiece of abstract composition.  In my years coming up as an art student Bourguereau was often dismissed as a hopelessly rigid and outdated painter.  But I think the pendulum is swinging back in Bouguereau's favor.




You can see more examples of Arnot's permanent collection on their website. 

Here's a photo of the contemporary addition that was added to the Arnot Museum in 1983 greatly expanding the scope of the galleries. It has undergone extensive renovations since that time and has elegant interior spaces for its art. The 23 Pairs exhibition is up through August 12, 2017. It's definitely worth a visit.






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