Rockport Art Association & Museum presents

The Curtis Family: A Legacy in Art

October 9 – November 6, 2022 in the Hibbard Gallery
Reception: Thursday, October 13, 2022, 6:00 – 8:00 PM

Rockport Art Association & Museum is pleased to host The Curtis Family: A Legacy in Art, an exhibition of around 80 paintings created by five members – and two generations – of the Curtis family, a family with deep roots in Gloucester and Rockport. The exhibition will be on view in the Hibbard Gallery for a month, beginning on Sunday, October 9 and closing on Sunday, November 6, 2022. Cape Ann, which boasts two artistic communities stretching back a century, was once a haven for every major artist in the American art world, and today’s contemporary artists continue those same traditions of bringing excellence and diversity in the arts to the larger community.

PUBLIC WELCOME TO THE CURTIS FAMILY GALLERY EVENTS:

Gallery Walk with Judith A. Curtis – Wednesday, October 12, 2022, 10:30 AM
Gallery Talk with Lorwen Nagle – Wednesday, October 19, 2022, 10:30 AM
Gallery Walk with T.M. Nicholas – Wednesday, October 26, 2022, 10:30 AM
Celebrating the Life of David P. Curtis (1950-2021) – Sunday, October 23, 2022, 2:00-4:00 PM

The Curtis Family: A Legacy in Art features the work of:
Howard A. Curtis (1906-1989)
Roger W. Curtis (1910-2000)
Alan H. Curtis
William A. Curtis
David P. Curtis (1950-2021)

Howard A. Curtis (1906-1989), the eldest of three brothers born in Gloucester, decided on a career in art and teaching early on. Even being blinded in one eye from a youthful firework accident didn’t dampen his enthusiasm. Despite instructing students for 34 years at Gloucester High School as head of the Art Department, Howard also found time to commit countless fantastical scenes to canvas that followed his maxim, which he passed on to his nephews, “Eschew the obvious and explore the esoteric.”

When Roger W. Curtis (1910-2000) graduated from Gloucester High School and announced his intention of following in his oldest brother’s footsteps, his father said, “No. One artist in the family is enough. You are going to Business School.” From Business School, Roger moved on to a woolen firm in Boston, where he progressed from accountant to partner over several years. But he still longed to paint and continued art lessons at night school. In the late ‘forties, Roger tired of being a businessman and decided on a leap of faith into an art career with a modest amount of art dealing on the side. To pursue his dream, Roger moved his family – wife Winifred, daughter Hannah, and sons Alan, William, and baby David – from Hyde Park to his aunts’ summer camp in Gloucester, where he had the drafty building winterized into a year-round residence. That was in 1950, and Roger never regretted forgoing a salaried job in the less predictable world of art. He became a well-known marine painter who won numerous awards for his work and taught regular workshops and classes throughout the region. Being brought up in this artistic milieu, it is hardly surprising that Roger’s sons also decided to follow a creative path.

Despite a difference in generations, each of these five artists created individual paintings with style and a unique vision. Alan, William, and David all credit their father with teaching them the traditional principles of painting from an early age. In High School, they took art instruction with their uncle. On graduation, the brothers took slightly different paths. Alan attended the Massachusetts School of Art before forming the Titus Gallery and becoming a full-time artist. Eventually, he moved to California and the Southwest, continuing his painting career with his trademark high-key palette to capture the West coast color.

William went into business and painted as often as he could in his spare hours. He only began painting full-time after retirement, when he could finally apply the knowledge and experience he had achieved painting Plein air over the past six decades. Although he is currently a studio painter in Maine, William channels what he learned from his father and uncle to develop and experiment with large canvases to capture the rhythm and movement, as well as the enormity, of the ocean with the fluid brushwork he learned painting outdoors.

David P. Curtis (1950-2021) tried summer courses at the Boston Museum School and Vesper George, also in Boston. David came into his own when he achieved one of the few student places in the private atelier of Boston artist R. H. Ives Gammell. Studying alongside students with the capability of Robert Douglas Hunter, Charles Cecil, Richard Whitney, Tom Dunlay, Paul Ingbretson, and Stapleton Kearns, David built upon the foundation his father and uncle had provided. Over the last 50 years, David matured into a fine landscape painter and art teacher whose insight into the creative arts will continue through his many students.

“Generational Talent Exhibit Features Works of Curtis Family Artists”