Visions of Vermont
It is the tradition of the “plein air” painter and love of the local landscape that inspired the inception of Visions of Vermont Fine Art Gallery. Founded in 2006 by Jane and Terry Shaw, Visions champions the landscape painting genre by showcasing local and national artists unified by a sole subject: the sylvan mountains, fields, and streams of the Vermont landscape. From the early days of the ski industry, to bustling moments in the village, to solitary vistas and pastures, these works capture the environment that Vermonters and visitors have come to cherish – a subject matter near and dear to the founders themselves.
As a born and raised resident of Jeffersonville, Jane Shaw has championed the art and artists generated in this area for years. Her devotion to this work has manifested in many ways, always leading back to her distinct upbringing here. These endeavors have not only given rise to a distinct art scene in the town but contributed to annual artist rendezvous that further the landscape genre among modern practitioners.
The wellspring of these efforts began in 1980 when, with the support of the community, Jane arranged a retrospective for local artist and friend, Tom Curtin who had passed away three years prior in 1977. The show – held at an inn in the village – was such a success that artist and entrepreneur Alden Bryan was inspired to build a “proper gallery” in the town, one that would memorialize his artist wife Mary who had also recently passed away. The Mary Bryan Memorial Gallery was then born in Jeffersonville in 1980 with Jane Shaw working as curator and manager for twenty years and remaining a board member until March of 2006.
Later, in April of 2006, a friend asked Jane for advice around attracting visitors to a new business at a nearby farm. Ever the innovator and inspired by her own equine interests during childhood, Jane integrated the new farm’s Percheron horses and pristine new box stalls into an art exhibition.
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On Memorial Day weekend in May of 2006, Eric Tobin’s “Visions of Vermont” exhibition was officially held at the Raven Ledge Farm in Waterville, Vermont. The show, equally as successful as the Tom Curtin exhibition hosted in 1980, launched the next phase of Jane’s work and later in 2006, Visions of Vermont was born.
The Gallery initially began as a singular floor of a three-story carriage house located at 94 Main Street in Jeffersonville, Vermont. At the time, it exhibited a single artist, Eric Tobin, but after a year of success and with the encouragement of additional artists, Jane and Terry opened another space in a Victorian home in 2007. Both the Varnum House and Carriage House were built in 1878 and have been carefully restored over the past twenty years. Coupled with the landscapes that dot their walls, these spaces channel the historic and artistic legacies of the town, unifying natural and built environments.
Visions has now extended to incorporate three distinct spaces, with the Sugarhouse Gallery opening in 2009 as a location for rotating exhibitions including the Northern Vermont Artist Association's June Juried Show, as well as one-man exhibitions and past masters shows. The gallery continues to feature local artists such as Eric Tobin and Karen and Jack Winslow, as well as many other well-known painters from the region: Robert Blair, John Caggiano, Don Mosher, Charles Movalli, T.M.Nicholas, and John Reilly to name a few. All have left their individual impressions of Vermont’s wonderful landscapes on canvas.
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Let’s have an art show for local painter Eric Tobin in the barn, give carriage rides, sell food and hire a bluegrass band.
- Jane Shaw
Just as it is the land that brings great painters to Jeffersonville, it is Visions of Vermont Fine Art Gallery’s intent to bring the painted interpretation of those landscapes to those who appreciate fine art.