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Portrait of the Hirschberg/Nelson family by George Laurence Nelson, Kent Historical Society
|
The
Seven Hearths, the Kent Historical Society Museum, will re-open this summer
after being closed for two years with a series of new art exhibits focusing on
the life and work of George Laurence Nelson. The Seven Hearths Museum is
located on Rte. 7 north of Kent center on the corner of Studio Hill Road in
Kent in the historic Flanders area that was once the original center of Kent.
George
Laurence Nelson, trained at the Art Students League and the National Academy,
and began teaching at the Art Students League in his early 20s. Nelson was
among the founders of the Litchfield Hills Art Colony, and later one of the
nine founders of the Kent Art Association.
The Litchfield Hills Art Colony played a meaningful role on a
national scale in twentieth century American art. George Laurence Nelson's
studio in Seven Hearths is the only remnant of the colony that is open to the
public today.
Set within Nelson's beloved pre-Revolutionary
Seven Hearths, which he donated to the Historical Society located on Rte. 7 in
Kent Connecticut in the heart of the Litchfield Hills, the Historical Society
is presenting three changing exhibits of Nelson’s work in August, September and
October.
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| Floral Painting by Nelson |
The August exhibit beginning on the 3rd
and running through the 25th will feature large and interesting selection of Nelson portraits. He made his
money by doing portraits, and the subjects range from well-known celebrities
such as Arturo Toscanini, to NYC society dames, to familiar local faces such as
Frank Goodsell as a child.
In September from the 1st
to the 29th Nelson’s floral paintings will be on display. While he made money-painting portraits, his
heart was devoted to stunning renditions of the lovely flowers that he and his
wife Helen grew in their gardens at Seven Hearths. Some are exquisitely colored
oil paintings and some are perfectly detailed pencil drawings. Some even are
featured on the cover of matchboxes!
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| Toscanini by Nelson |
A show that will fill the Seven Hearths Museum with works by
Nelson that are borrowed from private collections will be the final exhibit of
the season and will take place from October 5 – 27.
The
museum is open Saturdays and Sundays from10 a.m. to 4 p.m. throughout the
month.
Call
the Historical Society office, 860-927-4587 or visit the web site for more information
www.kenthistoricalsociety.org.
For area information www.litchfieldhills.com
