State of the Art: SouthWest New Hampshire

My wife, children, and I just returned from a short excursion to New Hampshire.  We are considering moving to improve our family's situation, and, through a series of serendipitous events, ended up choosing Keene, New Hampshire as a possible new home.  The area was of course beautiful, but my interest was also in knowing more about the art scene there.  This is some of what I found:

We arrived just after the Annual Art in the Park Celebration ended.  The first place winner in the oil/acrylic category was Romas Brandt Kukalis.  Romas is one of my favorite fantasy illustrators, and he has lived in Keene since 1989.

There is a decent art gallery on main street Keene, The Monadnock Fine Art Gallery, which represents mostly representational art.

Keene State University has its own art museum, The Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery.

In downtown Keene is MoCo Arts (The Moving Company), established in 1991.  Originally formed as a center for dance instruction, it has expanded to include visual arts, where local artists such as Peter Granucci and Robert Seaman teach.

In nearby Dublin, there was an art colony in the late 19th century which gathered around such artists as George de Forest Brush,  Abbott Handerson Thayer, Rockwell Kent, and Frank W. Benson.

Peterborough is home to the McDowell Colony, the first artist residency of its kind in the United States.  Founded in 1907, it offers temporary room, board, and studio space for the artists accepted into the colony.  Previous residents include:  Milton Avery, Aaron Copeland, Thornton Wilder, and Leonard Bernstein.

Also in Peterborough is award-winning artist, Karin Wells, who paints portraits reminiscent of the 1700's.

Custom frame-maker, Troy Stafford, is located in Peterborough.

South of Keene, in Swanzey, is the Chrysalis Farm Art Studio & Gallery, and in Sharon is the Sharon Arts Center, where Romas will soon be teaching.

In nearby Putney, Vermont is the Village Arts of Putney, founded by local New Hampshire resident, Richard Schmid, and his wife, Nancy Guzik.  Village Arts offers regular classes weekly, and workshops with some of the nation's best artists;  the same week my family was in the area, Jeremy Lipking did a demo in Putney.   Schmid, and his group, The Putney Painters, paint there regularly.

In addition to the visual arts, there are venues for performing arts and music, like the Redfern Arts Center, The Colonial Theater, The Peterborugh Players, the Monandock Music Festival, etc.

The area also offers covered bridges, lakes, farms, waterfalls, parkland, and Mt. Monadnock, North America's most frequently climbed mountain.

If you're a plein air painter, though, you better like snowscapes.  Last winter the snow began in mid-October, and ended May 7th, with a storm almost every three days.  135 inches total!

All in all, it was very beautiful, and the arts seem alive and well!