Approaching Modernism: Impressionism, Realism and the Picturesque in Newport

The strains of modernism entered Newport slowly, most often through the influences of Bostonians and New Yorkers who came for the summers. The advent of the Art Association of Newport in 1912 introduced local audiences to the work of contemporary artists. However, some of the first encounters with modernism occurred through the efforts of a native Newporter Anna Falconnet Hunter. This lecture explores Hunter’s connections as well as influences of the Boston School of Painters and the New York realists in Newport.

Attendees will enjoy a brief reception in the galleries with tea and coffee before the lecture begins at 2 PM. There will be a Q&A session upon conclusion of the lecture.

Nancy Whipple Grinnell is Curator Emerita of the Newport Art Museum, where she served for 18 years. During that time she oversaw all curatorial affairs and produced over 200 historical and contemporary exhibitions. She also wrote a biography of the Museum’s founder, Carrying the Torch: Maud Howe Elliott and the American Renaissance, and developed numerous museum catalogues.

 Grinnell currently chairs the Collections Committee at the Providence Art Club, where she has co-curated an exhibition on historical women artists of Providence; she also serves as the Club’s archivist. She has organized several exhibitions for the Gilbert Stuart Museum and has taught seminars on historic Newport artists in Salve Regina University’s Circle of Scholars. Grinnell currently is secretary for Newport’s Public Sculpture Commission, which oversees the city’s historic sculptures.

Grinnell holds a degree in art history from the University of Pittsburgh, an MLS from Simmons College; and an MA in American Civilization /Museum Studies from Brown University.