While Portsmouth's history as a center of commerce, industry, and politics is well established, we actually know surprisingly little about the city's rich history in, and contribution to, the
visual arts. This exhibition will help reveal the depth and importance of Portsmouth as a center of culture and inspiration over the past two hundred plus years. Painting Portsmouth: A Brush
with the Past provides a unique opportunity to explore how several generations of painters, from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, envisioned this prominent seacoast city. Our goal is to
introduce visitors to an exhibition of significant Portsmouth paintings drawn from private collections, art galleries, public institutions, and auction houses, which have been rarely, if ever,
seen and are little known to the public or to many within the art community.
