SHELBURNE FALLS — Colrain’s beauty will be on display in more than 60 paintings created by 32 artists as part of the third annual “Colrain on Canvas” show.
The exhibit will be on display Saturday, Sept. 24, and Sunday, Sept. 25, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Shelburne-Buckland Community Center at 53 Main St. in Shelburne Falls.
“This show speaks to the beauty and history of Colrain,” said organizer Deborah Wheeler, who serves on the Colrain Historical Society’s fundraising committee. Each painting displays Colrain scenes, people and animals.
Wheeler said this year’s exhibit is special because there will be 12 paintings from the late A. Hale Johnson, an established oil landscapist who died in April at the age of 84. Williamstown’s Greylock Gallery describes Johnson’s paintings as being “of the American Realist tradition, often likened to artist Andrew Wyeth and Eric Sloan.”
Some paintings that will be on display at Colrain on Canvas are professionally done, and some are done by artists with little to no training.
“It makes the show fun to see all the different paintings of Colrain next to each other,” Wheeler said.
She also pointed out that many artists are students of great painters from the area. When viewing these paintings, Wheeler explained people can tell where an artist’s influences came from and see how skills were transferred.
There will be three donated paintings up for auction. One painting preserves a view of the former Colrain Inn when it had three floors. Wheeler said this historic building was the victim of multiple fires, one of which led to the third floor being removed. According to the Colrain Historical Society’s website, a final fire destroyed the inn in 1989.
The show — which started in 2019 but was not held in 2020 following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic — has a unique setup, with the paintings organized based on the town’s five villages. People are able to look at maps throughout the Shelburne-Buckland Community Center to figure out exactly where each painting was made, adding context.
Wheeler said the emotional memories connected to the paintings and their locations have been known to bring some attendees to tears.
“Anyone who has spent time in Colrain will find the show interesting,” she said.
Admission is $10. All money raised will support the Colrain Historical Society, which is fundraising for foundation, electrical and weatherizing work at its museum.
Bella Levavi can be reached at 413-930-4579 or blevavi@recorder.com.