Sixty-five Prize Winners from the Collection of Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture

The Skowhegan school retains a unique character amid the bewildering variety of art schools today. This character derives from its natural setting, the old Maine farm of its founder, Willard Cummings; from its origin in a small group of artists united by common beliefs; and above all from the fact that it is a school with a definite viewpoint. This viewpoint might be summed up as a belief in the fundamental importance of study from nature, instead of the current emphasis on abstraction or routine academicism. The unique character of the Skowhegan school explains why a school which is not large has so wide an influence. It also accounts for the quality of this exhibition, selected from the School’s permanent collection of student works acquired as purchase prizes at the end of each summer. This exhibition demonstrates the quality of the young artists who come to Skowhegan, and of the experience which they get there.