The Lamont Gallery is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

art gallery located on the campus of

Phillips Exeter Academy Phillips Exeter Academy (often called Exeter or PEA) is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, college-preparatory school in Exeter, New Hampshire. Established in 1781, it is America's sixth-oldest boarding school and educates an es ...

, in

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, United States. It primarily showcases visiting exhibitions of local, national and international acclaimed artists, along with art of Phillips Exeter students and faculty. However, it also possesses a small collection.

History

The museum was commissioned in 1951 and began construction in June 1952. The gallery was given to the school by the Lamont family, which includes academy alumni such as

Thomas W. Lamont Thomas William Lamont Jr. (September 30, 1870 – February 2, 1948) was an American banker. Early life Lamont was born in Claverack, New York. His parents were Thomas Lamont, a Methodist minister, and Caroline Deuel Jayne. Since his father wa ...

Corliss Lamont Corliss Lamont (March 28, 1902 – April 26, 1995) was an American socialist and humanist philosopher and advocate of various left-wing and civil liberties causes. As a part of his political activities, he was the Chairman of National Council o ...

, and

Ned Lamont Edward Miner Lamont Jr. ( ; born January 3, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving since 2019 as the 89th governor of Connecticut. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as a Greenwich, Con ...

, as well as by alumni Harvey Kent and Earl F. Slick, the founder of Slick Airways. The cost of the establishment paid through donations was valued at $150,000. The Davison Construction Company was contracted to build the gallery, which was an extension on the Mayer Art Center building, then named Alumni Hall. It was named in honor of Thomas William Lamont II, class of 1942, who died aboard the USS ''Snook'' in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

when it went missing on April 8, 1945, and was dedicated as a part of Alumni Day celebrations on May 30, 1953. The first director of the gallery was Glen Krause. Cabot Lyford, a prominent sculptor, served as the director of the gallery while leading the art department of Exeter. The gallery is in part, supported by the Michael C. Rockefeller ’56 Visiting Artists Fund.

Collection

The Lamont Gallery's most famous painting in its possession is ''Irene Estrella'', by

Diego Rivera Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957) was a Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the Mexican muralism, mural movement in Mexican art, Mexican and international art. Between 1922 and 1953, Rivera painted mural ...

, which was donated to the gallery by Exeter alumnus

in 1954. It was donated to the academy by

, and has been shown at museums such as the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the

Doge's Palace The Doge's Palace (''Doge'' pronounced ; ; ) is a palace built in Venetian Gothic architecture, Venetian Gothic style, and one of the main landmarks of the city of Venice in northern Italy. The palace included government offices, a jail, and th ...

in Venice, and the

Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) () is a museum in Paris, France, on the Rive Gauche, Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts railway station built from 1898 to 1900. The museum holds mai ...

in Paris. Its collection also includes several more paintings by Rivera including a portrait of Lamont, various works by

John James Audubon John James Audubon (born Jean-Jacques Rabin, April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was a French-American Autodidacticism, self-trained artist, natural history, naturalist, and ornithology, ornithologist. His combined interests in art and ornitho ...

George Inness George Inness (May 1, 1825 – August 3, 1894) was an American landscape painting, landscape painter. Now recognized as one of the most influential American artists of the nineteenth century, Inness was influenced by the Hudson River Schoo ...

Yousuf Karsh Yousuf Karsh FRPS (December23, 1908July13, 2002) was an Armenian–Canadian photographer known for his portraits of notable individuals. He has been described as one of the greatest portrait photographers of the 20th century. An Armenian ge ...

, Maud Morgan, and Kiyoshi Saitō, as well four metal sculptures by Gerald Laing and two additional sculptures by

Anthony Caro Sir Anthony Alfred Caro (8 March 192423 October 2013) was an English abstract sculptor whose work is characterised by assemblages of metal using ' found' and industrial objects. He began as a member of the modernist school, having worked with ...

and Tony Smith, which are on display around the school campus. The gallery also possesses numerous artifacts dating to as far as the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

, which have been donated to the gallery by Phillips Exeter alumni.

Visiting exhibitions

The Lamont Gallery frequently showcases the works of visiting artists and Exeter students and faculty. Recent exhibitions include "Neighboring", which showed the work of residents of Rockingham County; "2016, A State of Mind Boston Printmakers Members Show", which featured the works of members of the Boston Printmakers; and "Self Made", which displayed works exploring identity. The photographs of Elizabeth Gill Lui, an academy parent, have been displayed in "Open Hearts Open Doors", and the photographs of

Steve Schapiro Steve Schapiro (November 16, 1934 – January 15, 2022) was an American photographer. He is known for his photojournalism work and for having captured key moments of the civil rights movement such as the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedo ...

have been displayed in "Heroes". Visiting speakers have included photographer Matt Black. Art on display has been loaned from the

New York Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the third-largest museum in the world and the largest art museum in the Americas. With 5.36 million v ...

."Special Events at Exeter Mark its 200th Year". ''The Boston Globe''. 26 October 1980.

References

{{Authority control Art museums and galleries in New Hampshire Lamont family Phillips Exeter Academy School museums

History

Collection

Visiting exhibitions

See also

References