The Art of Life: Selections from the Terrence and Suzanne Murray Collection

June 13 - October 12, 2009 - Sponsored by William Vareika Fine Arts Ltd.

Jane Peterson Beach Scene With Three Striped Umbrellas, Oil on masonite

For more than two decades, Terrence and Suzanne Murray have been quietly amassing an impressive collection of paintings and works on paper by major American artists who worked between 1870 and 1940. For the first time, selections from the Murray Collection will be exhibited together in a public venue this summer at the Newport Art Museum in "The Art of Life: Selections from the Terrence and Suzanne Murray Collection."

The Murrays began their foray into the art world with purchases of lithographs by realist George Bellows. These works, including scenes of Newport, where the artist painted for two summers, now form the core of the collection.

Moving from Bellows to other bold, modern urban painters, who are often referred to as members of the Ashcan School - Robert Henri, John Sloan, Everett Shinn, and William Glackens - was a natural move for the Murrays. These artists believed that art should be rooted in daily life, and Curator Nancy Whipple Grinnell selected many of their portrayals of everyday scenes for this exhibition.

"The Art of Life" also includes paintings of beach-goers by Charles H. Woodbury, Jane Peterson and Mabel Woodward, and boaters in both calm and stormy waters by Alfred T. Bricher, Edmund Darch Lewis, Leon Kroll and William Bradford. Works by Winslow Homer, William Merritt Chase, and Childe Hassam are additional highlights.

VIEW MORE images from the "Art of Life."

Learn more about this period in art history! Join Curator Nancy Whipple Grinnell for a two-session presentation relating to the exhibition, August 13 and August 20, 5:30 - 6:45pm. Register now online or call (401)848-2787.