Posted by vrcvanderbilt on Tuesday, March 20, 2018 in Events, Fine Arts Gallery, HART, Lectures, News.

Portraits of leaders in the arts, painted by one of their own, are the focus of the Vanderbilt Fine Arts Gallery whose latest exhibit, America Creative: Portraits by Everett Raymond Kinstler, showcases the storytelling skill of the country’s foremost living portraitist and celebrates a generation of creativity.The exhibit opens with a gallery reception from 5 to 7 pm on Friday, March 23, in Cohen Memorial Hall and remains on view through July 14.

It comes as no surprise that Kinstler is a master storyteller in words as well as images, and the gallery is delighted to host the artist for a lecture and demonstration on Saturday, March 24, from 3 to 4:30 pm in Sarratt Cinema. The sitter at this event will be Eddie George, former star running back for the Tennessee Titans who has become an actor since his retirement from professional football. Tickets to the March 24 event are free of charge but must be reserved in advance through the Sarratt Box Office..

Everett Raymond Kinstler, now 91 years old and often compared to John Singer Sargent, is America’s foremost portrait painter. In his career, he has rendered portraits of more than 2,000 individuals—leaders in almost every professional field, including eight United States presidents. America Creative explores how the eye of an artist sees kindred souls whose life’s work is also in the arts, whether visual, musical, performing, or literary. Kinstler’s vibrant, impressionist style imbues an otherwise static medium with the energy and vitality of his sitters, enlivening their personalities for us today and telling the stories of their lives.

Spanning the years from 1952 through 2015, these portraits cover the lengthy career of a successful artist who has truly honed his craft. They also capture a generation of creative leaders in this country. Thanks to loans from the artist and from several institutions, including the National Portrait Gallery and the National Academy Museum, the exhibition includes what Kinstler considers his own best work: “sculptor Alexander Calder in his studio; a beautifully rendered bust-length likeness of singer Marian Anderson that now resides at the Harvard Club; the social critic and author, Tom Wolfe, striking an elegant standing pose; plus a lively and energetic oil sketch of his close friend Tony Bennett,” wrote art historian and HART alumna Susan Knowles in the March 2018 issue of the Nashville Arts Magazine.

America Creative: Portraits by Everett Raymond Kinstler is the third in a three-part series on portraiture organized by the Vanderbilt University Fine Arts Gallery. The exhibition is curated by Joseph Mella, director, and Margaret Walker, assistant curator, with special thanks to the artist, Peggy Kinstler, and Michael Shane Neal. At the close of the exhibition, this special grouping of thirty-one portraits will leave Vanderbilt to travel to other venues, “carrying with it the joy and ebullience of a master portraitist and his muses,” wrote Knowles.

*Everett Raymond Kinstler (b. 1926). Christopher Plummer as Prospero, 2011, oil on canvas, 50 x 40 inches; Tom Wolfe, 1987, oil on canvas, 50 x 27 inches. Collection of the artist.