Beginning October 2, 2023 until November 3, 2023, the Salmagundi Club will present Reflections: The Art of Burton Silverman, offering a retrospective of one of America’s most accomplished Realist painters and teachers. The exhibition traces Silverman’s prolific career focusing on the last 23 years, highlighting his evolution as an artist into his late 90s.
Burton Phillip Silverman (b.1928) has been an active and memorable member of the Salmagundi Club since 2000 when he was granted honorary membership. Silverman, who began his career studying with renowned teachers like Robert Hale Ives Gammell (1883-1981) and painting from life in the rigorous tradition of the Boston School, went on to become one of the foremost Realist artists and instructors of his generation. Over a career spanning more than 60 years, he has created an impressive body of work across portraiture, figure studies, and cityscapes, exhibiting widely and winning numerous honors.
The exhibition will feature a comprehensive selection of Silverman’s oil paintings, drawings and several other media created since 2000, including perceptive portraits, insightful figure studies, and vivid landscapes of his beloved New York City. Despite entering his ninth decade, Silverman’s recent work demonstrates his ongoing technical mastery and his keen eye for capturing the human spirit.
In addition to a prolific artistic career, Silverman has been teaching classes in his Manhattan studio continuously since 1971. He has mentored generations of artists, serving as an example and inspiration for those learning the craft of representational painting. As both painter and teacher, Silverman has made an indelible impact on contemporary American art.
Salmagundi’s skylight gallery will be devoted entirely to Silverman’s work from the last 23 years. The exhibition offers a rare opportunity to experience the scope of this important artist’s achievements across the 21st century.
To commemorate this major retrospective, Salmagundi will publish a fully illustrated exhibition catalog. Reflections: The Art of Burton Silverman will be available in hardcover and softcover editions and will include over full-color reproductions of the artist’s work. It will also feature a critical essay by art historian and Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine’s Editor Peter Trippi, who will contextualize Silverman’s achievements over the past two decades within his broader career and legacy. The catalog will provide the definitive overview of this important 21st century phase in the life and art of Burton Silverman. Catalogs can be pre-ordered via the Salmagundi website and will be available for purchase during the exhibition.
A reception will be held on October 12 for this exhibition. To RSVP for a free ticket, please visit our Web site to reserve your ticket.
About Salmagundi Club ~ Salmagundi is a non-profit 501(c)(3) professional and social club, created in 1871 by artists and patrons to support one another. It is one of America’s oldest arts organizations with more than 1,400 current members throughout the United States and abroad.
The Club has continuously championed representational art from its founding with iconic members, including Thomas Moran (1837-1926), William Merritt Chase (1849-1916), Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933), Emil Carlsen (1848-1932), N.C. Wyeth (1882-1945), Childe Hassam (1859-1935) and Winston Churchill (1874-1965).
Reflections: The Art of Burton Silverman will be on view from October 2 until November 3, 2023 at Salmagundi Club 47 Fifth Avenue, between 11th and 12th Streets, in Greenwich Village. The Gallery is Free and open to the public seven-days a week. Monday through Friday from 1pm to 6pm, Saturday and Sunday from 1pm to 5pm. The Club offers a variety of art classes, open to the public. Take a visual tour of this historic Club.
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Take a look back at the Salmagundi Club 2013 renovation.