The Priscilla and John Richman Gift of American Impressionism and Realism

This exhibition celebrates six new gifts to the Norton from long-time Museum supporters Priscilla Richman and the late John Richman. The Richmans’ collecting focuses on American art from the first decades of the 20th century. Although this was the era when Americans began experimenting with abstraction, the Richmans acquire work by painters such as Thomas Hart Benton, Robert Henri, and Rockwell Kent, all of whom concluded that a connection to the visible world was necessary in their art. The eleven Impressionist and Realist paintings the Richmans have now given the Norton illustrate the breadth of work created by these artists, ranging from scenes of harmonious nature to representations of subjects from American history to works addressing the radical changes taking place in the modern world.