Arts & Entertainment

True to Life: The Art of Robert Verity Clem Opens Sunday at Mass Audubon Visual Arts Center in Canton

New art exhibit is opening on Sunday in Canton.

Robert Verity Clem’s art is all about the experience of observing birds in their habitats. His exhibition will be on view October 2 through January 15 at the Mass Audubon in Canton.

He once said, "I want to show birds in all the attractive situations
in which they are found, as they are seen, using the play of light and shadow." The success of his paintings results from a lifetime dedicated to watching birds. Clem (1933-2010) spent nearly all his life in Chatham, Massachusetts.

To mark the exhibition opening, Visual Arts Center Director Amy T. Montague will give a gallery talk at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, and light refreshments will be served.

"Robert Verity Clem was one of the greatest bird artists of his time. Working in both transparent and opaque watercolors, he developed an unusually detailed technique—which on close inspection, reveals a surprisingly soft, subtle, painterly approach," Exhibition Curator Gigi Hopkins said.

This is the first retrospective exhibition of Clem’s work. On display are 40 watercolors, many never before seen in a public exhibit. Some are part of Mass Audubon’s extensive collection of Clem’s paintings, and others are on loan from 15 private collections as well as the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and the Cincinnati Museum Center. In addition to the paintings, visitors will see sketchbooks and drawings, and film clips from the artist’s 1963 trip to Iceland.

The Mass Audubon Visual Arts Center is a family-friendly art museum set on a 138-acre wildlife sanctuary with walking trails, and located 15 miles south of Boston. The exhibition is open to the public Tuesday–Sunday, 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m., and includes activities for children. Trails are open Tuesday-Sunday, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Admission is free to Mass Audubon members, $4 for adults,
$3 for children and seniors. 

-The Visual Arts Center contributed this press release.

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