The following is a resume of Gordon Peers’ education information and his exhibitions from 1932 to 1985. Below the resume is a PDF for download, which includes biographical information for Peers and an extensive chronology of his career as an artist.

Gordon F. Peers
1909-1988

Education:
Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
Art Student’s League, New York
Beaux Arts Academy, New York

Exhibitions:
1932
Providence Art Club, Providence, RI

1936
National Exhibiton of American Artists, New York, NY

1939
World’s Fair, New York, NY
Golden Gate Exhibition, New York, NY

1940
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA

1941
Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, PA

1942
Worcester Museum, Worcester, MA

1943
Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, PA

1946
National Gallery, Washington D.C.
Pepsi Cola Exhibition National Academy of Design
Providence Art Club, Providence, RI

1948
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, RIchmond, VA

1949
Rhode Island League of Artists

1952
Terry Arts Institute, FL

1954
Boston Arts Festival, Boston, MA - Awarded Second Prize

1955
Boston Arts Festival, Boston, MA
Providence Art Club, Providence, RI - Awarded First Prize

1956
Newport Art Association, Newport, RI - Awarded First Prize
Boston Arts Fesitval

1958
Newport Art Association, Newport, RI - Awarded First Prize
Boston Arts Festival, Boston, MA

1959
Newport Art Museum, Newport, RI

1960
Newport Art Museum, Newport, RI
Dattorro-Tonoff Gallery, Providence, RI

1962
Newport Art Museum, Newport, RI

1963
Newport Art Museum, Newport, RI

1964
Newport Art Museum, Newport, RI

1965
Newport Art Museum, Newport, RI

1974
Newport Art Museum, Newport, RI

1985
Virginia Lynch Gallery, Tiverton, RI

Click to Download Extended Chronology

New Items Posted to the Attic Sale!

Do you love art, but have a limited budget?
For you, is the hunt just as exciting as the acquisition?
Or, are you simply a bargain hunter?

Then check out the Bert Gallery Attic Sale,
where we’re offering great art at great prices!

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Gallery Night Providence: April 17, 2008
Third Thursday in April - A Free Visual Arts Event

Mark your calendars for the second Gallery Night of the 2008 season on April 17th. Visit the Gallery Night website to find directions, routes, and celebrity tours - and don’t forget to stop by Bert Gallery to view our new exhibit, Painter Gordon Peers (1909 - 1988): Transformation During the War Years.

Cultural Awakenings 2008 Exhibition Series:

PAINTER GORDON PEERS (1909 - 1988)
Transformation During the War Years
April 4th – June 27th

Gallery Nights: April 17, June 19, Closed May Gallery Night

Providence, RI. Bert Gallery, located along the Providence waterfront at Corliss Landing, 540 South Water Street, continues the Cultural Awakenings 2008 Exhibition Series with the show Gordon Peers (1909 – 1988): Transformation During the War Years from April 4th through to June 27th. Gallery Hours are Tuesday – Friday from 11 – 5pm, Saturdays 12 - 4pm or by appointment. Exhibits are free and open to the public.

WWII touched all facets of American life and challenged the careers of many Rhode Island artists. The structured and precise painting style of Gordon Peers (1909 - 1988) pre-war evolved to meet the new realities of a post-war art world. The artist did not paint war themes, but looked to the emerging art movements of Geometric Abstraction and Surrealism by the American vanguard artists to better understand his choices as a painter. Bert Gallery’s current exhibit looks at the evolution of painter, Gordon Peers, nurtured in a war free art world, transformed by the altered American culture of the 1950’s.

There are over twenty paintings on view dating from 1938 to 1984. Early works in the 30’s and 40’s show Peers as a strong realist painter, who was interested in tightly rendered images, exacting composition, and homage to nature. An independent and disciplined painter, Gordon Peers acquired technical and theoretical art sophistication early in his career. He graduated from RISD under the tutelage of John Frazier and went on to study at the Beaux Arts Academy in New York, eventually working for a time with American realist, Thomas Hart Benton.

On December 7, 1941 every American life changed with the attack on Pearl Harbor and the entry of the United States into World War II. Gordon was a member of the faculty at Rhode Island School of Design and obtained a leave of absence to become an officer in an army camouflage unit. Like many Americans, Peers adjusted to the disruption in his career, but the war had irrevocably transformed the art world. He faced an art profession that was convulsing with new ideas and approaches to painting. The Bert Gallery exhibit juxtaposes the artwork by Peers from the 30’s and 40’s with later paintings from the 50’s to 80’s. The transformation in color, composition, and surface paint are significant. Peers will not be confused with the more radical and modern painters to emerge post-war in the United States. Rather, Peers’ paintings evolved slowly, paying particular homage to the work of Cezanne, and never relinquishing a respect for sound draftsmanship and the refined craft of painting. His subject matter ranges from still life, flowers and Cape Cod landscapes of Highland Beach and Truro, Massachusetts, actively avoiding war theme art. In the Rhode Island servicemen exhibits at the Providence Art Club in 1946, he showed imaginative paintings of objects and landscapes.

Gordon Peers achieved wide recognition in Rhode Island as a painter and instructor. He was the Chairman of the Painting Department at the Rhode Island School of Design, and the Head of the European Honors Program. A member of the Providence Art Club and Newport Art Association, he had several one man and group exhibitions to include such institutions as the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Corcoran Art Gallery, Carnegie Institute and the National Academy of Design.

For more information contact Catherine Little Bert at 401.751.2628 or visit the website www.bertgallery.com.

Interview with Jason Stieber:
Director of the National Museum of Women in the Arts Library & Research Center

What better way to celebrate Women’s history month than listening to our latest Bert Gallery podcast on the Clara Database of Women Artists launched by the National Museum of Women in the Arts Museum (NMWA), located in Washington, DC. Celebrating their twentieth anniversary, NMWA (www.nmwa.org) has a remarkable archives dedicated to documenting the achievements of women artists. Recently, they were gifted an important collection of letters by Frida Kahlo.

Recently Catherine Bert interviewed Jason Stieber the Director of the NMWA Archives on the Clara Data base, a unique interactive database containing authoritative information on 18,000 women visual artists of all time periods and nationalities. The information in Clara is drawn from the materials in NMWA’s extensive Archives on Women Artists.

Both Clara and the Archives on Women Artists are works in progress. They are continually adding records for new artists and updating information on existing artists.

Click here to download the Clara Database Podcast.

Bert Gallery Celebrates March - Women’s History Month

Women on Exhibit at Bert Gallery

In the current exhibit Struggle, Strength and Dignity one theme explored is the accomplishments of women artists during the 19th century. Works by late 19th century artists Emma Swan (1853-1927), Angela O’Leary (1879 – 1921) and Gertrude Parmalee Cady (1875 – 1957) are on view along with other twentieth century Rhode Island women artists such as Helena Sturtevant (1877 – 1946), Edna Martin (1896 – 1996), Edna Lawrence (1898 – 1987) and Eliza Gardiner (1871 – 1955). If you can’t visit the gallery than check out the exhibit slide show at www.bertgallery.com.

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Gallery Night Providence 2008 Starts in March!
Third Thursday, March 20th – A Free Visual Arts Event

Mark your calendars for the first Gallery Night of the 2008 season – March 20th. Visit the Gallery Night website, gallerynight.info to find out the routes, celebrity tours and don’t forget to stop by Bert Gallery to view our exhibit Struggle, Strength and Dignity.

New Edna Martin “Westward Bound” Slide Show Just Posted!

Edna Martin (1896–1996) was a graduate of Rhode Island School of Design in 1918 and traveled summers from 1929 – 1931 to Wyoming. Living on the ranch, she explored the Western landscape and did an interesting body of watercolors and etchings. See her watercolors on a web site slideshow at www.bertgallery.com. Call or visit the gallery if you would like to see the etchings of her summer adventures.

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For Women’s History Month plan a visit to the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art at the Brooklyn Museum

The Brooklyn Museum (www.brooklynmuseum.org) is the location of the one-year anniversary celebration of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art. Details on the March programs follow and make sure to see Judy Chicago’s iconic “Dinner Party” installation.

In celebration of Women’s History Month and the first anniversary of the opening of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, the Brooklyn Museum presents a series of public programs, including discussions, music, and films focusing on women in the arts. Highlights include a panel discussion titled Funding a Revolution moderated by Carol Jenkins and featuring women who are making historic strides in philanthropy; a dialogue with artist Ghada Amer; and a film from Women Make Movies.

“We must measure the emancipation of women on a centuries old yardstick,” said Dr. Elizabeth A. Sackler, public historian, arts activist, and benefactor of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art. “One hundred fifty years ago in this country, it was rare for women to receive any formal education and to own property, or to have basic rights within a marriage. One hundred years ago women had to fight, and fight hard, for the right to vote. Twenty-five years ago, even after all the successes of the women’s movement, the Equal Rights Amendment was left un-passed, in the dust. So, you see, the yardstick is alive and well.” “Yes,” she concedes, “the glass ceiling is higher but not shattered. It is necessary to pull out the bottom bricks of the patriarchal wall to move this country away from the male elitism that keeps prisoners of us all—men and women alike.”

ART EVENTS CALENDAR

Lecture: “Independent. Jewish. Frankly Feminist. Where Do We Go From Here?”
Saturday, March 8, 2–4 p.m.
Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Forum, 4th Floor
Susan Weidman Schneider, founder and editor-in-chief of Lilith magazine, discusses the feminist movement over the last three decades as it relates to Jewish women.

Panel Discussion: “Feminisms: Race, Gender, and Generation”
Sunday, March 9, 2–4 p.m.
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Auditorium, 3rd Floor
Artist, cultural historian, and MacArthur scholar Dr. Amalia Mesa-Bains leads a panel of women artists including Carrie Mae Weems, Magdalena Campos Pons, and Thenmozhi Soundaraji, in a discussion on the issue of historical and contemporary feminisms. Questions of both a cultural and political nature will be addressed: Where were women of color in the first wave of feminism? Why have many younger women found themselves at odds with the term? What definitions of feminism are shared and which are exclusive to race and class? What have been the driving concerns for women of color in feminist art?

Artist Dialogue: Ghada Amer and Maura Reilly
Saturday, March 15, 1–2:30 p.m.
Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Forum, 4th Floor
Contemporary Egyptian artist Ghada Amer discusses her work and her new exhibition Love Has No End with Maura Reilly, Ph.D., curator of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art.

Panel Discussion: Funding a Revolution
Saturday, March 15, 3–5 p.m.
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Auditorium, 3rd Floor
Dr. Elizabeth A. Sackler celebrates the first anniversary of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art with an invitation to a panel discussion by women who are making history in philanthropy. The afternoon event titled Funding a Revolution is presented with an eye on social agendas. Moderator Carol Jenkins, President of The Women’s Media Center and a Board Member of the African Medical Research Foundation (AMREF), leads philanthropic activists Jennifer Buffett, NoVo Foundation, President and Co-chair; Barbara Dobkin, Women’s Funding Network, Board Member, Jewish Women’s Archive, Founding Chair; and Helen LaKelly Hunt, Women Moving Millions, Co-chair, The Sister Fund, President and Founder, as they discuss their methods and goals.

Film: These Girls from Women Make Movies
Sunday, March 16, 2–3:30 p.m.
Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Forum, 4th Floor
Acclaimed feminist media organization Women Makes Movies presents the film These Girls (Tahani Rached, 2006, 68 min., NR) that follows the story of a band of teenage girls living on the streets of Cairo, by widely acclaimed Egyptian director Tahani Rached. A discussion follows the screening.

Music: Queen Esther
Sunday, March 16, 3–5 p.m.
Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Pavilion
Rooted in Texas but nurtured on the stages of New York, Queen Esther performs “proto-blues rock-and-roll filtered through 70s R&B.”

Lecture: “Harriet Tubman, Warrior for Freedom”
Saturday, March 29, 2–4 p.m.
Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Forum, 4th Floor
Recipient of the 2007 Richard Wright Literary Excellence Award, author Beverly Lowry discusses her recent book, Harriet Tubman: Imagining a Life, about the only woman to lead an armed rebellion during wartime.

Panel Discussion: Beyond the Waves: Feminist Artists Talk Across the Generations
Sunday, March 30, 3–5 p.m.
Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Forum, 4th Floor
Presented with feminist cooperative gallery A.I.R., this panel features feminist artists and critics Carolee Schneeman, Mira Shor, Brynna Tucker, Susan Bee, and Emma Bee-Bernstein, and explores connections between generations of feminist artists.

Gallery Talks: The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago and Ghada Amer: Love Has No End
Throughout March
Museum Guides and Student Guides give gallery talks in the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art. Check the Museum’s What’s Happening publication or visit www.brooklynmuseum.org for talk times and topics.

Cultural Awakenings in Rhode Island 2008 by Catherine Little Bert

Interview with James Montford, Director, Bannister Gallery, Rhode Island College

Friday, February 1, 2008
James Montford of Bannister Gallery discusses the lives and work of African American artists Edward Bannister, Wilmer Jennings, Nancy Prophet, and Frank Alston with interview Catherine Little Bert. This interview complements the Bert Gallery Exhibition Struggle, Strength, and Dignity: Opportunities for 20th Century Artists in Providence and coincides with Black History Month.

Download the podcast here.

Visit the Bannister Gallery website here.