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DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park
Current Exhibitions

Light on the Familiar:
The Paintings of Scott Prior

Joyce and Edward Linde Gallery

September 18 – November 28, 1999

Scott Prior, Still Life in Autumn,1997Prior’s paintings are a dialogue on his intimate surroundings, including people, places, and things. Light on the Familiar: The Paintings of Scott Prior, which includes 45 paintings created over a 28-year time span, is Prior’s first comprehensive survey. As the first museum to buy Prior’s work in 1971, it is especially fitting that DeCordova presents the first major museum exhibition of this contemporary realist painter.

Scott Prior, Nanny and Rose,1983Starting with early work from the 1970s, the exhibition traces Prior’s development from the time of his graduation from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst to the present. His early work can be characterized as surreal, with elements juxtaposed from a variety of sources including science, technology, religion, and Northern Renaissance art.

In the 1980s, Prior turned to his family and their domestic surroundings as his primary source of inspiration. Working from life as well as from photographs, Prior depicts aspects of daily life in his paintings. His subjects, however, no matter how ordinary they may seem, take on a mythic and poetic quality. Prior captures the sense of intimacy that exists within the space of the everyday lives of the people he loves while revealing the beauty that can be found in even the simplest moments. Light on the Familiar celebrates the unique vision of this highly gifted and talented artist.

Scott Prior, Nanny and Ezra in the Kitchen, 1988The exhibition, organized by Director of Curatorial Affairs Rachel Rosenfield Lafo, will travel to the University Gallery, University of Massachusetts, Amherst from January 30 to March 17, 2000. The DeCordova Museum is publishing a poster and an illustrated catalogue to accompany the exhibition. In addition, there will be a videotape showing Scott Prior in his studio and at home that will be screened continuously in the galleries.

A 48-page catalogue with 25 color images will accompany the exhibition ($16.95). Prior’s Still Life in Autumn, 1997, is available in poster format at The Store @ DeCordova ($9.95) (781/259-8692). Funding for Light on the Familiar: The Paintings of Scott Prior is provided by Alpha Gallery and the Poss/Kapor Foundation.

Select works from Light on the Familiar: The Paintings of Scott Prior,

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