Splendor in the Grass: Art Inspired by the Great Marsh

Join us on at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 18 for an encore presentation of one of the most popular lectures at last year's Great Marsh Symposium. Refreshments will be served prior to the talk. Have you ever stopped to admire the singular beauty of the landform we live so close to, known as the Great Marsh? You are not alone. Beginning in the early 19th century, artists set up their easels and recorded the marsh in every cast of light, every type of atmospheric condition, and every season. This presentation will cover over 150 years of painters and photographers working in and around the Marsh, highlighting the work of 20 artists, including Fitz Henry Lane, Martin Johnson Heade, and Arthur Wesley Dow. In the process, examples of several important art movements that influenced artists of the period will be illustrated. Monica Reuss is an independent appraiser of American paintings and prints dating from the 18th to mid-20th centuries. She has over 25 years of experience, having graduated from the Sotheby’s American Arts Course, then working at Northeast Auctions by Ronald Bourgeault in Portsmouth, NH, as the Fine Arts specialist responsible for research, cataloging and appraisals. Monica is a member of the Museum of Old Newbury’s Board of Directors and Collections Committee and a member of the Appraisers Association of America, holding certification in American paintings.