Clifford Gleason: The Promise of Paint

Here’s a sneak preview of a terrific exhibit that will open without fanfare at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art on August 20th, closing October 31, 2020 (open Tuesday through Saturday, 12-5…masks required.)  It brings together much of the existing major work of Salem/Portland painter Clifford Gleason (1913-1978).  I’ve long been a major fan of Gleason’s work but really was not prepared for the gravitas of this work all together in one place.  Even though day trips are somewhat difficult these days, this one is worth the effort.  I visited the museum yesterday with curator Roger Hull where preparators Silas Cook and Fred Soelzer were putting up the final touches.

I won’t give facts or even titles, and certainly not “discourse” at this point…though curator Hull has a new monograph that will be available at the museum, filled with everything you might like to know.  This is just the visual walk through…

Silas Cook and Roger Hull conferring about hanging the India-ink drawings…

also on view upstairs:

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