DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park
Lincoln, MA
781-259-8355
http://www.decordova.org
Light on the Familiar: The Paintings of
Scott Prior
September 18 - November 28, 1999
There is much more happening in a Scott Prior painting than initially
meets the eye. Prior's paintings are a dialogue on his intimate surroundings,
including people, places, and things. Light on the Familiar: The Paintings
of Scott Prior, which includes 45 
paintings created over a 28-year time span, is Prior's
first comprehensive survey. As the first museum to buy Prior's work in 1971,
it is especially fitting that DeCordova presents the first major museum
exhibition of this contemporary realist painter.
Starting with early work from the 1970s, the exhibition
traces Prior's development from the time of his graduation from the University
of Massachusetts at Amherst to the present. His early work can be characterized
as surreal, with elements juxtaposed from a variety of sources including
science, technology, religion, and Northern Renaissance art.
In
the 1980s. Prior turned to his family and their domestic surroundings as
his primary source of inspiration. Working from life as well as from photographs,
Prior depicts aspects of daily life in his paintings. His subjects, however,
no matter how ordinary they may seem, take on a mythic and poetic quality.
Prior captures the sense of intimacy that exists within the space of the
everyday lives of the people he loves 
while revealing the beauty that can be found in even
the simplest moments. Light on the Familiar celebrates the unique
vision of this highly gifted and talented artist. The exhibition, organized
by Senior Curator Rachel Rosenfield Lafo, will travel to the University
Gallery, University of Massachusetts, Amherst from January 30 to March 17,
2000. The DeCordova Museum is publishing a poster and an illustrated catalogue
to accompany the exhibition. In addition, there will be a videotape showing
Scott Prior in his studio and at home that will be screened continuously
in the galleries.
Paul Master-Karnik, Director of the DeCordova Museum, said
in the Forward of the exhibition catalogue "There is much more 'going
on' in a Prior painting than might initially appear to the eye of the casual
viewer. This might be stated of all good paintings, and all good art, yet
it is especially true here due to the deceptively approachable way in which
the works present themselves. What might first seem to be a casual assembly
of ordinary household objects, a glimpse of a suddenly interrupted activity,
or the surreptitious encounter of a private moment can become a complex
narrative interaction of place, figure and objects, upon closer study. The
real is always edging into the surreal in Scott Prior's vision. And it is
this very special vision of a truly gifted artist which is being exhibited."
Rachel
Rosenfield Lafo explains in the exhibition catalogue's Introduction "What
is unusual about Scott Prior's career is how young he was when his first
painting was purchased by a museum. The DeCordova Museum's founding director,
Fred Walkey, saw the painting Reconciliation Triptych in an exhibition
in Maine, awarded it the show's first place prize, and bought it for the
Museum's collection in 1972. Prior was 23 at the time 
and had graduated from the University of Massachusetts
at Amherst only the year before. Prior was subsequently included in several
group exhibitions at DeCordova, and by 1977 the Museum owned five of his
paintings. Recently, the Museum purchased another of Prior's paintings,
Nellie in the Backyard. Thus, as the first museum to pay serious
attention to Prior's art, it is fitting for DeCordova to organize his first
retrospective exhibition, including paintings that range in date from 1971
to 1999.
Prior's dealer since 1973, the Alpha Gallery on Newbury Street
in Boston, will show his most recent paintings from September 9 through
October 6, 1999. The opening reception for the Alpha Gallery exhibition
is Saturday, September 18, from 3 - 5 pm.
A 48-page catalogue with 25 color images will accompany
the exhibition. Prior's Still Life in Autumn, 1997, is available
in poster format at The Store @ DeCordova. Funding for Light on the Familiar:
The Paintings of Scott Prior is provided by Alpha Gallery and the Poss/Kapor
Foundation.
Images from top to bottom: Nanny and Rose, 1983, oil on canvas,
66 x 55 inches, Collection of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Bedroom in
Winter, 1980, oil on wood, 66 x 48 inches, Private Collection; Still
Life in Autumn, 1997, oil on linen, 50 x 66 inches, Private Collection;
Nanny and Ezra in the Kitchen, 1988, oil on linen, 88 x 66 inches,
Collection of James S. Maxwell; Early Spring Still Life, 1985, oil
on canvas, 42 x 38 inches, Collection of Ropes and Grey; Mollye Napping,
1999, oil on linen, 50 x 38 inches, Collection of Jonathon and Diane Harr;
Chair and Ball, 1991,oil on linen, 48 x 42 inches, Collection of
Edward and Joyce Linde; Still Life with Spherical Objects, 1973,
oil on wood, 9 x 10 inches, Collection of Burson-Marsteller.
Read more about the DeCordova
Museum and Sculpture Park in Resource
Library Magazine
Search for more
articles and essays on American art in Resource Library. See America's Distinguished Artists for biographical information on historic artists.
This page was originally published in 1999 in Resource
Library Magazine. Please see Resource Library's Overview section for
more information.
Copyright 2012 Traditional
Fine Arts Organization, Inc., an Arizona nonprofit
corporation. All rights reserved.
There is much more happening in a Scott Prior painting than initially
meets the eye. Prior's paintings are a dialogue on his intimate surroundings,
including people, places, and things. Light on the Familiar: The Paintings
of Scott Prior, which includes 45 
paintings created over a 28-year time span, is Prior's
first comprehensive survey. As the first museum to buy Prior's work in 1971,
it is especially fitting that DeCordova presents the first major museum
exhibition of this contemporary realist painter.
