Staniar Gallery Presents Louise Herreshoff Eaton Exhibition The online exhibition is the first comprehensive study of the artist's watercolors.

W&L Office of Communications
April 27, 2020

Staniar Gallery is introducing an online exhibition, “To See Color First,” the first comprehensive study of the watercolors of Louise Herreshoff Eaton, an artist who figures prominently in Washington and Lee University’s permanent collection.

“Due to the coronavirus outbreak, it is impossible to display the artworks in the physical gallery space as planned,” said Clover Archer, director of Staniar Gallery. “With the online exhibition and digital version of the exhibition catalogue we are able to present a virtual experience of the Herreshoff project and provide an in-depth look at this remarkable artist.”

Links to both resources can be found on the Staniar Gallery website.

As an academic gallery, a crucial aspect of Staniar’s mission involves mounting temporary exhibitions of works that enhance the courses and curriculum in the art department. Typically, on view for 4-5 weeks, the gallery’s shows expose students to a broad array of art and topical creative explorations. These exhibitions model a diverse range of creative practices and related discourse, but in-depth study of the original artworks is not always possible given the brief amount of time the works are on campus. The chance to organize an exhibition from the university’s permanent collection provides an exciting opportunity to expand the pedagogical role of the gallery and highlight W&L’s cultural resources.

With their new research into the life and works of Louise Herreshoff Eaton, put forth in the exhibition catalogue, co-curators Tracy Bernabo and Patricia Hobbs lay a scholarly foundation upon which students can continue to gain inspiration and develop art historical analyses long after the show comes down. Tracking Herreshoff’s artistic development in relationship to the trajectory of the contemporaneous movements in her lifetime, Bernabo and Hobbs demonstrate the significance of her oeuvre as a reflection of the dynamic times in which she worked. Their research shines light on the life and works of this relatively unknown painter, sparking new lines of inquiry that imbue the university’s rich collection of Herreshoff’s paintings with fresh relevance for students and future scholars.

Staniar Gallery is located on the second floor of Wilson Hall, in Washington and Lee University’s Lenfest Center for the Arts. When campus is open to the public, gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9a.m. to 5 p.m.  For more information, please call 540-458-8861.

Read more about the Herreshoff exhibit in Senior Curator Patricia Hobbs’ From the Collections column.