Gallery: "American Icons"

“American Icons: Paintings from the Baseball and Marilyn Monroe/Joe DiMaggio Series”
by
Lance Richbourg
at
The New England College Gallery
March 4-April 12, 2008
Artist Talk: March 20 from 1:30-3:30 PM
Reception:  March 20 from 4-6 PM

The Gallery at New England College presents “American Icons: Paintings from the Baseball and Marilyn Monroe/Joe DiMaggio Series” by Lance Richbourg March 4 to April 12, 2008.  There will be a talk by the artist on Thursday, March 20, 2008 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the Gallery, followed by an artist reception the same day from 4 to 6 p.m.  The talk and reception are free and open to the public.

Admission to the New England College Gallery is free. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday from 11 to 3  p.m. and weekend hours by appointment. The Gallery is located on Main Street in Henniker, New Hampshire, adjacent to the College’s Administration Building. For more information, call The Gallery at 603-428-2329.

The son of baseball player, Lance Richbourg Sr., who played professionally with the Nashville Vols and the Boston Braves, Lance Richbourg has been exploring the figure in action, primarily though his paintings and watercolors of scenes from the history of American baseball for more than twenty-five years.  While famous for these lyrical, magical baseball paintings, Richbourg has recently launched into a new adventure interpreting and re-interpreting in paint American icons Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio.

Richbourg has developed a unique form of watercolor painting to capture celebrated moments in American culture. His paintings of major-league baseball in the 20’s and 30’s have given Richbourg his well-respected name in the art world. He is able to capture the grace and sophisticated beauty of baseball, which was so prominent during this time in American history. He works with a variety of paint types including oil, acrylic and watercolors making them look vibrant, pronounced and graceful. The classic look attained by using the paint on varying surfaces such as wood or newspaper gives these works the lively look that makes them unforgettable.  The subject matter appears before the viewer like something from a legend or an epic.  In the process of taking an existing photo and placing it within the context of a modern painting, Richbourg transforms a moment which may seem common to all but the sport’s fans and elevates it to something heroic to the general audience.  Richbourg’s work embodies the spirit of baseball by portraying the sport’s most notables as well as the most under-appreciated personalities.

Born in 1938, Richbourg received his MFA from UCLA.  A Professor of Fine Arts at Saint Michael’s College since 1975, Richbourg has also taught at the University of Vermont and California State University.  Early in his painting career he was noticed by the O.K. Harris Gallery in New York and has been represented by them ever since that time.

The New England College Gallery is supported in part by grants from the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts.