Author: Robert Creenan
The Benjaman Art Gallery of Buffalo will be presenting a series of works by regional artists Charles Burchfield, George Renouard, and Tony Sisti, starting on August 1st.
The gallery has privately held this collection for more than 30 years. It includes some Burchfield charcoal and graphite drawings and more than 50 paintings from Renouard and Sisti, most of which were purchased directly from Sisti’s Buffalo gallery during the 60’s and 70’s.
Charles Ephraim Burchfield is a watercolor painter from Ashtabula Harbor, Ohio. His works deal with the effects of industrialism on small town America, and he’s also known for his nature paintings. Burchfield first moved to Buffalo in 1921 to be a designer at the Birge Wallpaper Company and later moved to West Seneca in 1925. He was named one of America’s ten greatest painters in a 1936 issue of Life Magazine. Burchfield is one of Buffalo’s most celebrated artists… the showing of relatively obscure Burchfield works is a big deal for fans of the painter.
George Renouard was born in Rochester and spent much of his career in New York City. Most of his works depict life among the less fortunate – people on the streets trying to get by in day to day life. Many of his works show a side of life that many painters never acknowledged – he painted his subjects with understanding and compassion, rather than with discontent.
Tony J. Sisti, who was also a recognized boxer, is best known for his Franklin Street Gallery, which he started in 1955. He started by painting murals in Western New York during the Great Depression as part of the WPA program. He taught painting and anatomy at the Buffalo Art Institute and at the School of Applied Design for Women in New York City. Sisti painted Franklin D. Roosevelt, and travelled with Ernest Hemmingway to the Congo. The Burchfield-Penney Art Center at Buffalo State has a room named in his honor, and some of his works are part of its permanent collection.
What: Opening reception for “Legacy: An Important Private Collection” featuring works by Charles Burchfield, GeorgeRenouard and TonySisti.Where:
Benjaman Gallery
419 Elmwood Avenue
When: Friday, August 1, 2014
6:oo -9:00 PM
Exhibit and sale will continue through September 27, 2014Who: Open to the Public/Free
The Benjaman Gallery is open Thursday—Saturday from 12 am to 5 pm. It is by appointment only.