In each issue of Vermont Art Guide, we offer a selection of art that we think would make a worthy addition to anyone’s collection of art. Sometimes, we recommend a piece because the artist has made a name of themselves and in doing so, made a significant contribution to the history of Vermont art. Other times, we recommend a work of art because we think it is brilliant or beautiful. The publication has absolutely no stake in the sale of these works. We simply think you should buy art and enjoy it.
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Fall House, Joe Williamson Farm
by Alden Bryan
at Bryan Memorial Gallery
No collection of Vermont art would be complete without a painting by Alden Bryan. A Harvard-trained businessman, an athlete, and a sailor, in Vermont, Bryan is best known today as a painter. Shortly after studying with Emile Gruppe and Charles Curtis Allen, Bryan and his wife Mary moved to a dairy farm in Jeffersonville where he introduced pasteurized milk to the area, started a restaurant, a bakery, and an inn, and engaged in a number of other entrepreneurial endeavours, all while making over a 1000 paintings of Vermont and the twenty-five countries he traveled in.
In 1978, tragedy struck and his beloved Mary passed away. To honor her, he designed and built the Bryan Memorial Gallery on Main Street in Jeffersonville and invited an astounding roster of artists from across New England to exhibit and paint. Today, the Bryan Memorial Gallery remains a destination for painters and art lovers alike; the heart of Lamoille County’s artistic legacy.
Bryan’s painting reflects an academic realism that defined American art before Modernism. His paintings reflect a study of composition, light, and color. His subjects reflect a simply choice of vista or view: the red barn and white house of a farm, a field away, and in the distance, a mountain reaching up for the sky. While his paintings of Vermont may appear nostalogic by contemporary standards, they are historic, pictorial depictions of early and mid 20th century life in Vermont. The oil painting, Fall House, Joe Williamson Farm, is 14 inches by 20 inches. The price is $5000.
Bryan Memorial Gallery
Both Alden and Mary Bryan were painters who moved to Jeffersonville in 1937. Their legacy is this gallery, which promotes the work of Vermont and New England artists.
180 Main Street, Jeffersonville 05464
(802) 644-5100
www.bryangallery.org
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