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GET THE PICTURE: GARI MELCHERS

Don’t miss Belmont’s latest: spectacular exhibits of American Impressionist Gari Melchers’ work and the centuries-spanning artworks collected by him and his wife, Corrine

Date published: 1/22/2009

By CLINT SCHEMMER

FOR A DOSE of cheer guaranteed to take your mind off these trying times, hustle on over to Belmont in Falmouth.

Today, Gari Melchers Home and Studio takes the wraps off two superb new exhibitions that belong on anyone’s must-see list.

The first, “The Unpretentious Garden,” showcases some of the late artist’s finest and most colorful impressionist works.

The second, “Painting Highlights From the House,” displays selected pieces from the art collection assembled by the globe-trotting Melchers and his wife, Corinne.

Normally, these treasures hang on the walls of their historic home, which is undergoing repairs this winter.

That the two special exhibitions are displayed in the sunlit galleries of the stone-walled studio that Melchers built at his estate in southern Stafford County adds considerably to one’s enjoyment.

The change of venue affords visitors a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to closely inspect the couple’s personal favorites. You can view these artworks—which run the gamut from old masters to Melchers’ contemporaries—in a way that would be impossible on normal tours of their home, when foot traffic must be restricted to preserve Belmont’s priceless furnishings.

And, happily, this twin bill is a bargain. Because the home is closed to visitors this month and next, Belmont has cut its adult admission fee by half—and will open its gates at no charge on Wednesdays through February.

UNPRETENTIOUS

“The Unpretentious Garden” is Belmont’s fourth Spotlight Exhibition since early 2007. Beginning with four newly conserved works two winters ago, each temporary show has revealed artistic gems by Gari Melchers rarely or never before seen here.

So it is with this new show, which takes its title from a painting of the same name. On special loan from the Telfair Museum of Art in Savannah, Ga., “The Unpretentious Garden” has been a favorite of many people for decades.

It is appearing at Belmont for the first time.

A bright, lovely and peaceful scene painted from life in the garden of the Melchers home in Egmond aan den Hoef, Holland, it is the artist’s most widely reproduced work.

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Date published: 1/22/2009