Visions of Vermont
Visions of Vermont Fine Art Galleries, LLC opened in 2006 as Visions of Vermont. It was one floor of a three-story carriage house located at 94 Main Street in Jeffersonville, Vermont. At that time we exhibited a single artist, Eric Tobin. After a year, the success of that initial venture, along with the encouragement of several high quality artists, helped convince us to open the adjacent Victorian house as a fine art gallery also. And in 2007 we did. Both gallery structures were built in 1878 and have been restored over the last 20 years to their current status and, in our opinion, both buildings do justice in showing fine art.
It is the tradition of the “plein air” painter and the love of the local landscapes that has inspired Visions of Vermont Fine Art Galleries to be born. Jane Shaw, the prime mover behind the creation of the Visions of Vermont, is no stranger to the Vermont art community. In 1980, with the support of many local folks, Jane put on a retrospective show for the great local artist and friend, Tom Curtin, who had died in 1977. The venue for the exhibition was a local inn. The show was such a success that artist and entrepreneur, Alden Bryan decided to build a “proper gallery” to memorialize his artist wife, Mary, who too had recently died. So in 1980 the Mary Bryan Memorial Gallery was built. Jane worked as it’s curator and manager for 20 years and remained a board member until March of 2006.
In April of 2006 a friend asked Jane if she had any ideas on how to attract people to a new business she had started at her farm nearby. Since the farm included five gorgeous Pecheron horses and a new barn with pristine box stalls, Jane said sure. “Let’s have an art show for local painter Eric Tobin in the barn, give carriage rides, sell food and hire a bluegrass band”. On Memorial Day weekend at the end of May 2006 the Eric Tobin “Visions of Vermont” exhibition was held at the Raven Ledge Farm in Waterville, Vermont. The show was just as successful as the Tom Curtin exhibition Jane hosted in 1980. And just like the Mary Bryan Gallery that was started as a result of that show Jane now brings Visions of Vermont Fine Art Galleries to her beautifully restored carriage house, Victorian House and Sugarhouse on Main Street in Jeffersonville.
We continue to feature Eric Tobin in the carriage house, and we feature two other internationally known local painters in the Victorian House, Karen and Jack Winslow of Cambridge, Vermont. Along with Karen and Jack’s work exhibited in the main house, we show the paintings of other well known painters from the region: T.M.Nicholas, Stapleton Kearns, Ken DeWaard, Thomas C. Adkins, Leo Mancini-Hresko, Don Mosher, Charles Movalli, John Caggiano, John Reilly, T.A. Charron, Michael Graves, Dale Ratcliff and Bill Fein, to name a few.
In 2009 we opened up a third building as a gallery The Sugarhouse with intent to display art for special shows such as the Northern Vermont Artist Association's June juried show, one-man exhibitions and past masters shows.
It is our goal to continue to display and sell works of art of high quality artists who both live and paint in our area now or have in the past. Masters like Emile Gruppe, Charles Curtis Allen, Fred Hines, George Carpenter, Alden Bryan, Thomas Curtin and more are also offered for sale. All have left their individual impressions of our wonderful landscapes on canvas.
Just as it is the land that brings great painters to the Jeffersonville; it is Visions of Vermont Fine Art Galleries intent to bring the painted interpretation of those landscapes to those who appreciate fine art.
