This VersoFest, be sure to explore The Westport Library’s first mixed-media art installation, Thinking Inside the Box. Born from an idea put forward by artist and author Melissa Newman, Thinking Inside the Box is a unique installation that brings together more than 20 artists from around the area to create original works that will be displayed from March 18 through May 5 in the central grandstand in the Library’s Trefz Forum.
Participating artists are set to include: Tina Puckett, Chris Perry, Marc Zaref, Tiara Trent, Rebecca Ross, Janine Brown, Darcy Hicks, Nina Bentley, Miggs Burroughs, Sooo-z Mastropietro, Tom Bernsten, kHyal, Melissa Newman, Mary Ellen Hendricks, Katherine Ross, Five Fingaz, Tammy Winser, S’aint Phifer, Linda Colletta, Mollie Keller, and Norm Siegel.
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The Library is pleased to be able to offer free programs and events through the generous donations of patrons like you. Please consider giving to the Library so that we can continue to offer events like this one. Your donation is tax deductible. Donate Now!
How much do you know about fellow Westporter and artist Ann Chernow? Watch this new documentary about the award-winning artist and learn more with a panel discussion with the filmmakers Andrea Wozny and Bernie Langs, actors Keir Dullea and Mia Dillon, Susan Granger, and author Ron Chernow.
Ann Chernow's art is inspired by film noir — the black and white films of the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, often transposing the figure of the femme fatale into a relatable and recognizable reflection. Said Ann: “Paintings, prints, or drawings, I want people to see themselves in my work.”
This documentary walks through Ann Chernow’s life as told by herself, her closest friends, husband and wife actors, Mia Dillon and Keir Dullea, and her cousin-in-law, past Booked for the evening honoree and award-winning author Ron Chernow (Alexander Hamilton, The House of Morgan, Titan). This film is a gallery of Ann's work — and the films that inspired it.
Ann Chernow
Westport Local Artists
Join us for the first in a series of in-depth conversations about art and artists hosted by Westport's own Stacy Bass.
In this kickoff event, Stacy and Bobbi Coller will engage in a lively, illustrated conversation exploring the fascinating relationship between Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner, viewing examples of their vibrant work and tracing the arcs of their careers.
Before people used the term “power couple,” Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner were two of the most groundbreaking artists of the radically new Abstract Expressionist Movement that was centered in New York City. While Pollock’s distinctively energetic method of pouring paint directly onto the canvas was at first controversial, he gained a mythic notoriety during his short life, and he is now considered one of the most iconic artists of the twentieth century.
It took much longer for the art of his wife, Lee Krasner, to be appreciated and valued. The recent cultural drive to reassess the overlooked accomplishment of women artists has led to a realization of the strength of Krasner’s work, as well as her essential participation in the creation of mid-twentieth century abstraction. Her paintings and collages have now been displayed all over the world, sold for record-breaking prices at arthouse auctions, and prized in the collections of major museums.
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Bobbi Coller is an art historian, independent curator, and art educator. She received a BS in Education from New York University and a PhD in Art History from The Graduate Center of CUNY. She has taught Modern and Contemporary Art at Long Island University, and has curated over 30 exhibitions including “The Artist’s Mother: Portraits and Homages,” which was shown at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. In addition, several of her exhibitions were circulated throughout the United States by the Smithsonian Institution’s Traveling Exhibitions Service.
Coller has admired the work of both Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner for many years and has worked to preserve the legacies of the two artists. She is currently the Chairperson of the Advisory Board of the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center in Springs, N.Y., the landmarked home and studio of both artists. She curated two exhibitions for that site: The Persistence of Pollock in 2012, which marked the hundredth anniversary of the artist’s birth, and Pollock’s Champions in 2014, the first exhibition to focus on Pollock’s relationships with his three lifetime dealers.
Coller has a home in Westport.
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A political science/photojournalism major from Barnard College, Columbia University, Stacy Bass began to focus on fine art and commercial photography in college and then studied at the Maine Photographic Workshops — with masters Jay Maisel, Joe Baraban, and William Albert Allard. From her first solo exhibition in 1988, her fine art work has become part of numerous private, corporate and hotel collections and her images and unique perspective continues to tap into the emotion and sensibility of a wide spectrum of viewers. Select pieces of her fine art work are currently represented by Sue Appleton-Webster at Swoon Gallery in Westport.
Always with an eye and an interest in all things visual, Bass' career ambitions have taken her through numerous magazine positions, including a senior position at fine art photography start-up: On Seeing.
Bass is also a graduate of NYU School of Law where she concentrated on Copyright, Art, and Entertainment law and later used her expertise to become vice president of a publicly traded motion picture and television company, Savoy Pictures Entertainment, Inc.
Bass has been capturing the essence of a place through an intuitive use of light, color, and composition for almost two decades. Her signature images of architecture, interiors, and gardens have resulted in three solo exhibitions and numerous awards. Her photography has been featured extensively in books and magazines including at home (where she was lead photographer for more than 10 years), Garden Design, Luxe Interiors + Design, House Beautiful, Elle Décor, Veranda, AD, Horticulture, Living Etc., British Homes & Gardens, The Wall Street Journal, and many more. She is the author of two best-selling and critically acclaimed monographs/books celebrating the American landscape: In the Garden (Melcher Media/Perseus Books, 2012) and Gardens at First Light (Moffly Media, 2015).
Art History Research
Westport Local Artists
Women are...
Join us for an artist reception with Terry Tannen, whose Awakenings is on display in the Jesup Gallery, January 12 to March 12.
Tannen was born and raised in Connecticut. After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design, she pursued a career in corporate design and branding working for iconic graphic designer Herb Lubalin, NBC TV, and co-founding her own firm G&K Design Group.
Capturing the beauty and natural design of nature has always been what inspires her creative work — whether it be through design, photography, painting, or sculpture. Her work has been exhibited in New York City, Westport, and Southampton, N.Y.
“This collection of sunrise photos is from a series taken over Mill Pond Beach in Westport,” Terry said. “It is a tribute to the last year of my beloved husband Charles Tannen's life. Chuck was an avid lover of nature, photography, and adventure. As his fight with Parkinson's progressed, our goal became finding the beauty in what was in our present moment, in gratitude. Thus, Awakenings.”
Jesup Gallery
January 12 through March 12
Artist reception: Monday, February 12, 6-7:30 pm
Terry Tannen was born and raised in Connecticut. After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design, she pursued a career in corporate design and branding working for iconic graphic designer Herb Lubalin, NBC TV, and co-founding her own firm G&K Design Group.
Capturing the beauty and natural design of nature has always been what inspires her creative work — whether it be through design, photography, painting, or sculpture. Her work has been exhibited in New York City, Westport, and Southampton, N.Y.
“This collection of sunrise photos is from a series taken over Mill Pond Beach in Westport,” Terry said. “It is a tribute to the last year of my beloved husband Charles Tannen's life. Chuck was an avid lover of nature, photography, and adventure. As his fight with Parkinson's progressed, our goal became finding the beauty in what was in our present moment, in gratitude. Thus, Awakenings.”
Award-winning sculptor Lucy M. Krupenye, whose Zen Meditations will be on display at the Library from January 12 through March 12, will be in conversation with Miggs Burroughs. There will be a reception held in the South Gallery from 6 to 7 pm, followed by a talk in the Trefz Forum from 7 to 8 pm.
Krupenye creates hanging assemblages out of found objects such as stone, wood, metal, and bone. Her sculptures are organic and Zen in feeling. Although some are whimsical, most often she searches for harmony among the diverse elements she uses to construct her pieces.
Krupenye's work is in tune with nature and the environment, and she uses a lot of "recycled" material in her work. What most people consider flotsam, jetsam, or garbage, she often considers treasure. Her creations are inspired by nature, music, and the world around her. She strives to create works of beauty, peace, and tranquility in a world that often feels chaotic.
Krupenye has exhibited extensively in in New York City and around the Northeast, including solo exhibitions at The Hammond Museum, The Stamford Museum, The Silvermine Arts Center, The Carriage Barn Arts Center, The Simon Gallery in Martha’s Vineyard, The Ridgefield Playhouse, and others. She also has exhibited extensively in countless group exhibitions.
Krupenye has been the featured artist on Channel 12 News, at the Katonah Museum of Art, in Westport Magazine, in Fairfield County Lifestyle, and in many newspapers, books, magazines. In addition, her sculptures have graced the covers of jazz and rock CDs and albums, and she has curated several major museum and gallery exhibitions. She has won awards for her sculptures in juried exhibitions and her work is in private collections in the United States and in Europe.
“My artwork is something that I see, not from the outside, but from within,” she said. “It is something that I feel. I rarely draw a piece before I make it. As I work with the elements the piece is just born — in essence, it creates itself. It is, in part, a reflection of my inner being and thus is extremely personal. If one looks closely into my artwork, one might see a part of my soul.”
South Gallery
January 12 through March 12
Artist reception and talk with Miggs Burroughs: Wednesday, January 31
Reception 6-7 pm in the South Gallery; talk 7-8 pm in the Trefz Forum
Award-winning sculptor Lucy M. Krupenye creates hanging assemblages out of found objects such as stone, wood, metal, and bone. Her sculptures are organic and Zen in feeling. Although some are whimsical, most often Lucy searches for harmony among the diverse elements she uses to construct her pieces.
Lucy’s work is in tune with nature and the environment, and she uses a lot of "recycled" material in her work. What most people consider flotsam, jetsam, or garbage, she often considers treasure. Her creations are inspired by nature, music, and the world around her. She strives to create works of beauty, peace, and tranquility in a world that often feels chaotic.
Lucy has exhibited extensively in in New York City and around the Northeast, including solo exhibitions at The Hammond Museum, The Stamford Museum, The Silvermine Arts Center, The Carriage Barn Arts Center, The Simon Gallery in Martha’s Vineyard, The Ridgefield Playhouse, and others. She also has exhibited extensively in countless group exhibitions.
Lucy has been the featured artist on Channel 12 News, at the Katonah Museum of Art, in Westport Magazine, in Fairfield County Lifestyle, and in many newspapers, books, magazines. In addition, her sculptures have graced the covers of jazz and rock CDs and albums, and she has curated several major museum and gallery exhibitions. She has won awards for her sculptures in juried exhibitions and her work is in private collections in the United States and in Europe.
“My artwork is something that I see, not from the outside, but from within,” she said. “It is something that I feel. I rarely draw a piece before I make it. As I work with the elements the piece is just born — in essence, it creates itself. It is, in part, a reflection of my inner being and thus is extremely personal. If one looks closely into my artwork, one might see a part of my soul.”
Reception: 6-7 pm in the Sheffer Gallery
Lecture by members of The Westport Astronomical Society: 7-8 pm in the Trefz Forum
Discover the wonders that lie just beyond your backyard in How Beautiful, the Universe — an extraordinary art exhibition featuring more than 25 captivating works by members of the Westport Astronomical Society (WAS). Embark on a cosmic journey from the comfort of Westport and witness the breathtaking beauty of our universe through the lens of dedicated astrophotographers.
The universe, teeming with awe-inspiring phenomena, unfolds before your eyes. From the radiant glow of our closest star, the sun, to the intricate details of distant galaxies and nebulae spanning hundreds of light years, these images showcase the celestial marvels that grace our night skies.
Join us as members of WAS unravel the mysteries behind the creation of these mesmerizing images.
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The Westport Astronomical Society, a not-for-profit scientific campus nestled within a former Cold War radar station, is home to the Westport Observatory and the KWAS Ham Radio Club. The observatory's radar tower has been repurposed into a dome, providing an ideal vantage point for observing the night sky. As part of their commitment to education, WAS offers a free monthly lecture series through webinars and live, in-person talks. Additionally, the campus features a National Geologic Survey seismography station, reflecting the Society's diverse scientific pursuits.
Join us on February 28 for the second* Verso University exploration of the CT Art Trail with the Yale University Art Gallery. The talk, by John Stuart Gordon, the Benjamin Attmore Hewitt Curator of American Decorative Arts, will focus on the exhibit Sheila Levrant de Bretteville: Community, Activism, and Design, on view from February 16 through June 23, 2024.
*Information about first Yale University Art Gallery talk, on January 31 HERE.
This event will take place in the Komansky Program room on the Library's main level.
Founded in 1832, the Yale University Art Gallery is the oldest university art museum in America. The museum is open to all, free of charge, and is committed to engaging audiences through thoughtful, creative and relevant exhibitions programs, and publications.
About the exhibit:
Sheila Levrant de Bretteville: Community, Activism, and Design is the first exhibition focused on the influential graphic designer, public artist, and educator Sheila Levrant de Bretteville (born 1940, MFA 1964). De Bretteville, who has long championed principles of advocacy and inclusion through her community-based and politically informed work, is well known for her contributions to the field of feminist design and education. The rich array of materials on view in the exhibition is drawn from de Bretteville’s personal archive and highlights pivotal moments in her multifaceted and trailblazing career. De Bretteville served as director of Graduate Studies in Graphic Design at Yale from 1990 to 2022 and is the first woman in the Yale School of Art to be awarded tenure. This monographic exhibition reinforces her role as a quiet leader and visionary role model who has shaped a new generation of graphic design.
About our Verso University presenter:
John Stuart Gordon is the Benjamin Attmore Hewitt Curator of American Decorative Arts at the Yale University Art Gallery. Dr. Gordon attended Vassar College, received an MA from the Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture and a PhD from Boston University. He is enthusiastic about all aspects of American decorative arts, in particular design since 1850 and precious metals. His exhibitions for the Gallery include The Architect’s Table: Swid Powell and Postmodern Design (2007–2008), A Nation Reflected: Stories in American Glass (2019), and Gold in America: Artistry, Memory, Power (2022). His publications include A Modern World: American Design from the Yale University Art Gallery, 1920–1950 and American Glass: The Collections at Yale as well as essays in John La Farge’s Second Paradise: Voyages in the South Seas, 1890-1891 (Yale Press), Postmodern Design Complete (Thames and Hudson), A Dark, A Light, A Bright: The Designs of Dorothy Liebes (Cooper-Hewitt) and numerous articles. He is currently working on a book about gold in America. In addition to his curatorial work, Dr. Gordon teaches a survey of American silver at Yale.
Image: Sheila Levrant de Bretteville, Women in Design: The Next Decade, 1975. Diazotype. Courtesy Sheila Levrant de Bretteville
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Each month, Verso University will bring individual curators and/or museum directors, from the CT Art Trail membership to the Library for a deeper dive into that museum’s particular mission and exhibits — past and present. Participants will have an opportunity for deeper learning and gain an insider’s view of the museums, their collections and history, along with an invitation for an on-site visit. The Connecticut Art Trail is a nationally recognized partnership between 23 world-class museums and historic sites, created to promote Connecticut’s rich cultural assets.
Verso University is the Library’s lifelong learning and education initiative, serving up year-round offerings of classes, workshops, and lectures designed to further education and learning. Offerings run the gamut of educational opportunities, ranging from one-time lectures to ongoing courses to classes that meet weekly or perhaps monthly.
Verso University programs are made possible by the generous support of the Nancy J. Beard Lifelong Learning and Education Fund.
Museum Passes
Virtual Museum Tours
In celebration of Verso University's exploration of the CT Art Trail, join us on January 31 for a our first* presentation from the Yale University Art Gallery. The talk will focus on the exhibit "Munch/Kirchner: Anxiety and Expression," which opens on February 16 and is on view through June 23.
This event will take place in the Komansky Program room on the Library's main level.
*Second Yale University Art Gallery talk scheduled for February 28, more HERE.
Founded in 1832, the Yale University Art Gallery is the oldest university art museum in America. The museum is open to all, free of charge, and is committed to engaging audiences through thoughtful, creative and relevant exhibitions programs, and publications.
About the exhibit:
Featuring more than 60 works, this exhibition is the first to examine the prints of Edvard Munch alongside those of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, elucidating the fascinating overlaps in their creative output and personal biographies and demonstrating how these artists suffered from — and attempted to cope with — the anxieties of their age. Drawing primarily on a large group of prints in the collection of Nelson Blitz Jr., and Catherine Woodard, as well as the Gallery’s own substantial holdings of German Expressionist works on paper and other U.S. museum collections, this exhibition brings into focus the parallels between these two towering figures of Expressionism, highlighting their engagement with themes of anxiety, depression, and trauma.
About our Verso University presenter:
Freyda Spira is the Gallery’s Robert L. Solley Curator of Prints and Drawings. Previously, and for many years, she was in the Department of Drawings and Prints at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. There, she was Associate Curator of Northern drawings, prints, and illustrated books from the Early Modern period, and curated several successful exhibitions, including Beyond the Light: Identity and Place in Nineteenth-Century Danish Art (2023) and The Renaissance Etching (2019).
Spira holds a BA from Barnard College, an MA from Columbia University, and a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania.
Image: Edvard Munch, Toward the Forest I (Mot skogen I), 1897, printed 1913–15. Woodcut printed in pink and green. Collection of Nelson Blitz, Jr., and Catherine Woodard
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Each month, Verso University will bring individual curators and/or museum directors, from the CT Art Trail membership to the Library for a deeper dive into that museum’s particular mission and exhibits — past and present. Participants will have an opportunity for deeper learning and gain an insider’s view of the museums, their collections and history, along with an invitation for an on-site visit. The Connecticut Art Trail is a nationally recognized partnership between 23 world-class museums and historic sites, created to promote Connecticut’s rich cultural assets.
Verso University is the Library’s lifelong learning and education initiative, serving up year-round offerings of classes, workshops, and lectures designed to further education and learning. Offerings run the gamut of educational opportunities, ranging from one-time lectures to ongoing courses to classes that meet weekly or perhaps monthly.
Verso University programs are made possible by the generous support of the Nancy J. Beard Lifelong Learning and Education Fund.
Museum Passes
Virtual Museum Tours
Norm Siegel, “Pieter Claesz’s Dinner At The Katz’s,” 2023
South Gallery
October 27, 2023, through January 8, 2024
Reception: November 20, 6-8 pm (reception: 6-7 pm; talk: 7-8 pm)
Artist Bio (from Norm Siegel)
I started out scribbling airplanes that I saw on WW 2 newsreels with pencil on the flyleaf pages of the few books my parents owned. Paper was scarce and my parents were understanding.
On a 6th grade field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I was mesmerized by a Willian Harnett still life and a huge Albert Bierstadt Yellowstone landscape. It was then and there I knew I wanted to become an artist.
That path started oddly enough at the High School of Industrial Arts in 1952. It was also a time when I fell under the influences of our brand new television set, Saturday Evening Post and Colliers magazine covers, 3D and science fiction movies and EC comic books. SIA encouraged me every step of the way.
Still with all these diversions I managed to get accepted into The Cooper Union. Tuition was free at that time and we did not live large in the South Bronx.
What a Wake-up Call!
For someone wired to draw comics and do realistic illustrations. ( I actually won a second place high school student award at the Society of Illustrators)^, abstract expressionism was the “soup de jour” at Cooper. And though I gave it my all, I wasn’t very good at it. Call it AAED (Acute Abstract Expressionism Disorder) or whatever, I was more successful applying my energies into my elective: Advertising Design taught by Rudolph de Harak. All the while unbeknownst to my instructors and fellow students, I was freelancing as an illustrator for Galaxy and Fantastic Universe SF pulp magazines. (A couple of my covers can still be seen on the internet.)
After graduation I embarked on my “madman” career as an art director and was reasonably successful. Even with a two-year interruption courtesy of the U.S. army. After many years in big agencies, I left to open a creative boutique in Southport with former NBC Creative Director Steve Lance. One of our proudest accomplishments was to help launch The Discovery Channel in 1989.
In my off time, to escape the stress and politics of ad agency reality, I indulged my love of aviation by becoming a member of the American Society of Aviation Artists and the U.S. Air Force Art Program. Many of my paintings have homes in various aviation museums as well as the Pentagon. Plus, I had the opportunity to fly in many of our hottest and iconic aircraft.
Though rarely still active today as a freelance art director, (who in their right mind is hiring an octogenarian art director these days?) I decided to once again pick up the brush and return to the style of painting that my 19th century brain is “wired” to paint.
Interestingly enough, my advertising career seems to have meshed with my painting career. Just like creating an ad or commercial, what I paint has to have a concept. Sometimes literal, sometimes graphic, sometimes humorous and satirical, sometimes social, and sometimes political.
I’ve been fortunate to have my work exhibited at The Salmagundi Gallery in New York, The New Britain Museum of American Art, Billis Gallery in Westport, Kershner Gallery at The Fairfield Public Library, the Westport and Wilton Libraries, and Bendheim Gallery in Greenwich, with solo shows at the Newton Roux Gallery in Westport, The Discovery Museum in Bridgeport, and WorkPoint in Stamford. Recently, my painting “Garden of Hope” is now at The Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, D.C.
^Footnote: One of my earliest accounts was The Famous Artists, Photographers and Writers School in Westport.
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Artist Statement
Unlike many artists it’s difficult for me to put into words what I put on the canvas.
What you see is what I intend you to see.
I’m not one to experiment with new techniques, materials or mediums.
Spontaneity and intuition are not involved.
I do experiment with subject matter to satisfy my past and current influences and my sense of humor using the skills I’ve honed over decades with brush and paint on canvas or panel.
Any questions?
Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca in "Your Show of Shows, " Victor Keppler, circa 1950–1954
Jesup Gallery
October 27, 2023, through January 8, 2024
Showtime! celebrates the performing arts in Westport. Ballet, contemporary dance, and musical theater all thrive on the stages of Westport schools, the Library, and beyond. Many young performers who call Westport home have gone on to study at leading arts programs and today are performing around the country and world.
Westport Public Art Collections (WestPAC) are a cultural asset of the town, with more than 1,800 works of art in a broad range of media — paintings, watercolors, drawings, prints, illustrations, cartoons, photographs, sculptures, and murals — by notable American artists, giants of the international art world, and important artists who established their homes and studios in the Westport-Weston community.
WestPAC’s artworks were acquired primarily through gifts, mostly given by the artists themselves or donated by heirs and collectors. Artworks are on display throughout municipal buildings and public schools in Westport.
The WestPAC Committee cares for the artworks in the collections and carries out WestPAC’s mission of using original works of art to inspire and educate Westport residents, students, teachers, and the broader community.
Learn more about Westport Public Art Collections at westportarts.org.
