The Pastel Society of New Mexico’s 2025 “Enchanted Colors Exhibition” will be held at the Millicent Rogers Museum in Taos, New Mexico. There will be a display of 66 pastel paintings exhibited by fine artists from across the USA, with the majority of them being from New Mexico and immediately surrounding States.

More from the organizers:

Taos, a wonderful art community, has been host to our exhibition for now, going on its fifth year and we enjoy our relationship with the organizers and administrators of this great museum. The show will display works in two spacious gallery rooms.

The jurors of acceptance are Bruce A. Gomez, William Schneider, and Marie Tippets. The jurors “sculpt” the exhibition while the judge grants awards to several of the finest works. The Judge of Awards will be Lisa Gleim. Numerous Cash and Sponsor Awards are expected to total more than $10,000 in value.

The exhibition will run from March 22 – June 1, 2025 with the Gala Opening Celebration and Awards Ceremony held on Saturday, March 22. Additionally, there will be a Virtual Interactive Online Exhibition with 56 additional painting images by the artists who requested to have their works displayed “Digitally Only” showing all of the paintings in their relative sizes.

Learn more about “Enchanted Colors” here.

Attention Art Collectors!
May 20-22, 2025: Visit the Plein Air Convention & Expo’s robust pop-up art gallery at the Nugget Casino Resort in Reno, Nevada, where hundreds of artists, including our master faculty, will have studio and plein air works on display and ready to purchase. Register for the full event at PleinAirConvention.com now.

Browse more western art here at FineArtConnoisseur.com.

J. M. W. Turner paintings on view > Celebrate the 250th anniversary of James Mallord William Turner’s birth by seeing twelve of his watercolors from the Taft Museum of Art and the Cincinnati Art Museum. On view at the Taft Museum of Art through June 15, 2025, “J. M. W. Turner: Watercolor Horizons” is the first exhibition to bring together the entirety of the two museums’ luminous works by Turner in this medium.

More from the Museum:

Considered one of Britain’s greatest landscape painters, Turner (English, 1775–1851) was a master of the art of watercolor. A prolific artist and intrepid traveler, he was especially drawn to mountains, alpine lakes, glaciers, river valleys, and the sea, as well as the human presence within these dramatic settings. Watercolor Horizons features views of Switzerland, Germany, France, England, Scotland, and Italy. The exhibition explores Turner’s skill with a brush on paper through these remarkable landscapes, examples of his innovative techniques, and painting tools from the era on loan from local collections.

“’J. M. W. Turner: Watercolor Horizons’ is a rare opportunity to see these treasures up close and in person,” said the exhibition’s curator Tamera Lenz Muente. “Each is filled with exquisite color and mind-blowing details that you can examine with magnifying glasses we’ll have in the gallery. Paired with a tea from the café or a family program, the Turner birthday experience at the Taft is one not to miss.”

For tickets to see these J. M. W. Turner paintings, visit taftmuseum.org/Turner250.

Attention Art Collectors!
May 20-22, 2025: Visit the Plein Air Convention & Expo’s robust pop-up art gallery at the Nugget Casino Resort in Reno, Nevada, where hundreds of artists, including our master faculty, will have studio and plein air works on display and ready to purchase. Register for the full event at PleinAirConvention.com now.

View more art museum announcements here at FineArtConnoisseur.com.

Surprises await visitors to the RISD Museum in its exhibition “The Art of French Wallpaper Design.” Organized by curator Emily Banas, it explores the vibrant designs that adorned Europeans’ walls in the 1700s and 1800s.

“The Art of French Wallpaper Design”
Rhode Island School of Design Museum
risdmuseum.org
through May 11, 2025

On view are more than 100 rare samples of salvaged wallpapers, borders, fragments, and design drawings, all revealing their creators’ innovations and technical skill. Accompanied by a digital publication, this project celebrates the foresight of Charles and Frances Wilson Huard, who assembled this collection in the 1920s and ’30s.

The online catalogue notes that “in the past, much like today, wallpaper designs typically reflected what was in vogue, so once papers were out of fashion, they were removed or pasted over. It is therefore not surprising that examples of historical wallpapers are few and far between, particularly those in good condition. To assemble a comprehensive collection today would be a difficult undertaking.”

Celebrity Portraits in Print History > Before the 18th century, consumers in Great Britain and its American colonies lacked access to images of famous people other than monarchs. Broad circulation of engraved portraiture changed all that; now people could put a recognizable likeness or caricature with a name they had read about. Soon a market emerged for images of writers, actors, criminals, athletes, politicians, military figures, social climbers, models, and fashionable society women.

This year, the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum — one of the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg — is presenting the exhibition “Celebrity in Print,” which pairs portrait prints with porcelain, silver, archeological fragments, and other artifacts that together illustrate the powerful impact celebrities made.

According to Katie McKinney, Colonial Williamsburg’s curator of maps and prints, “Just as today we use ever-expanding technologies to shape and share our image, so artists, actors, politicians, athletes, and socialites of the past used the printed word and images to expand their influence and fame.”

“Celebrity in Print”
DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum
Williamsburg, Virginia
colonialwilliamsburg.org
through November 8, 2025

Among the most recognizable of colonial government notables was Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790). In a 1763 mezzotint made after a portrait painted by Mason Chamberlin, several of Franklin’s most famous experiments are depicted around him, including the lightning rod. After the print was published in England, his son ordered 200 copies to sell in Philadelphia. Franklin himself greatly enjoyed handing the print out to friends and correspondents, as this was one of his favorite likenesses.

Actors were often depicted in costumes or striking poses from their most famous roles. Their printed portraits often served as inspiration for ceramic figurines and were transferred to handkerchiefs, snuffboxes, and drinking vessels. One example featured in “Celebrity in Print” (and illustrated here) is the British comedic actor Henry Woodward (1714–1777).

This pair includes a print and a porcelain figure showing him as “The Fine Gentleman” in David Garrick’s first play, Lethe, or Esop in Shades, first performed in London in 1740. Woodward’s character, dressed in an absurd outfit, poked fun at the wealthy Englishmen who traveled through Europe on their “Grand Tour.”

Upon their return, it was feared that they would adopt foreign dress, customs, and tastes. Garrick’s play was soon performed to huge acclaim in New York, Philadelphia, Annapolis, and Charleston.

Printed likenesses also celebrated ordinary people who led extraordinary lives. In the 18th century, 50 was the threshold of “old age.” It is not surprising, then, that Margaret Patten, who in 1737 claimed to be 136 years old, attracted attention. The mezzotint engraving of her is based on a portrait by John Cooper that was painted at the request of local officials to commemorate her long life.

The exhibited prints — and also other examples kept elsewhere at Colonial Williamsburg — can be explored in depth on two 65-inch touchscreens available for visitors’ use in the galleries.

The Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts has organized the innovative exhibition “Rivera’s Paris.” It gathers an array of paintings, drawings, and photographs to explore the Mexican artist’s formative early years in Spain and France, particularly his encounters with cubism that resulted in “Dos Mujeres” (1914), a signature artwork in the museum’s own Foundation Collection.

Dos Mujeres is a portrait of Rivera’s common-law wife, Angelina Beloff (standing), and their artist friend Alma Dolores Bastián. It earned acclaim when first exhibited in Paris and was gifted to the museum in 1955 by Abby Rockefeller Mauzé, sister to Arkansas’s future Governor Winthrop Rockefeller.

Rivera’s Paris
Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts
Little Rock
arkmfa.org
Through May 18, 2025

Fine Art Collection on View > In Salisbury, North Carolina, the Waterworks Visual Arts Center is hosting the exhibition “Never Before Seen … Modern Masterpieces from the Collection of Julian and Josie Robertson.” On view are 40 paintings and sculptures created by 28 European artists including Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, Fantin-Latour, Picasso, Chagall, Kandinsky, and de Kooning, spanning a range of movements from impressionism to abstract expressionism.

All of the works are from the collection of the late New York City philanthropists Julian and Josie Robertson, who began buying art in earnest after Julian (1932–2022) founded the hedge fund Tiger Management in the 1980s. He was born in Salisbury and remained dedicated to his hometown for the rest of his life.

It was there that he learned the importance of community from his parents, Blanche and Julian Robertson, both active members of the town’s church and civic life. Blanche was also instrumental in establishing Waterworks as a recognized organization in the late 1970s.

On a national level, the younger Robertsons became generous supporters of the arts, medical science, education, environmental conservations, and efforts to combat poverty. In 1997, they established the Blanche and Julian Robertson Family Foundation to support causes in Salisbury and in Rowan County, of which it is the county seat.

As plans were laid to tour the Robertson Collection, it was agreed that it should be seen in Salisbury first. Its 12-month presentation there is attracting visitors from throughout the region, and it’s impressive that Waterworks and the foundation have partnered to ensure that every child in Rowan County — some 19,000 students — will visit during the show’s long run.

Exhibition Details At a Glance:
“Never Before Seen … Modern Masterpieces from the Collection of Julian and Josie Robertson”
Waterworks Visual Arts Center, Salisbury, North Carolina
waterworks.org
Through August 30, 2025

View more art museum announcements here at FineArtConnoisseur.com.

The Asheville Art Museum is presenting “Asheville Strong: Celebrating Art and Community After Hurricane Helene,” a poignant and inspiring exhibition on view February 13–May 5, 2025, in the Appleby Foundation Exhibition Hall. This non-juried exhibition showcases the works of artists from the Helene-affected Appalachia region, celebrating their resilience, creativity, and strength while highlighting the power of art to inspire and bring communities together.

The Museum issued an open call for artist submissions, collaborating with local and regional arts networks to reach artists from the Southern Appalachian community impacted by Hurricane Helene. The response was overwhelmingly positive, with over 150 submissions showcasing a diverse range of works.

“Hurricane Helene was devastating for everyone, and as a public-serving arts institution, we really wanted to recognize the impact the storm had on artists,” said Jessica Orzulak, Associate Curator and Manager of Curatorial Affairs. “Artists are an integral to the bedrock of our communities in WNC. Our goal has been to create space for impacted artists to showcase their work to a broad public, opportunities for artists to connect with each other and collectors, and a means for us all to join together in a collective act of resilience.”

Asheville Strong features a variety of mediums, including painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, and photography. Each work is accompanied by the artist’s information, allowing viewers to connect and learn more about the creators. For more information, please visit www.ashevilleart.org.