Claremont Collects: Art, Creativity, Community

Claremont Collects: Art, Creativity, Community is the inaugural exhibition in the newly expanded Claremont Lewis Museum of Art. Featuring highlights from the Museum’s permanent collection, Claremont Collects celebrates our rich artistic legacy, vibrant creative community, and robust support for the arts. The exhibition, generously sponsored by Gould Asset Management LLC, showcases work made by area artists from the 1930s to today.

A Grand Opening celebration will unveil the two new galleries on Saturday, May 21 from 6 to 8 p.m. Everyone is invited to explore the new spaces and enjoy a glass of wine with festive appetizers on the Depot Plaza while listening to “Vintage Music” presented in loving memory of David Reisman. The exhibition will remain on view through September 25, 2022.

The Claremont Lewis Museum of Art is located in the historic Claremont Depot at 200 W. First Street next to the Metrolink Station. The Museum is open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, from noon to 4 p.m.

Take a Virtual Tour of Claremont Collects

Co-Curators Adrienne Luce, Catherine McIntosh, and Seth Pringle present a virtual tour of the exhibition “Claremont Collects: Art, Creativity, Community” featuring highlights from the Museum’s permanent collection in this 37-minute video produced by Eddie Gonzalez.

Exhibition Description

The exhibition connects past, present, and future by revealing the depth and breadth of our region’s continuum of creativity and honors Claremont’s role in the history of California and American art. Claremont has long been recognized as a dynamic center for artistic production. Since the 1930s and continuing through the present day, Claremont has been both magnet and haven for artists. Millard Sheets, Jean Ames, Phil Dike, and their contemporaries cultivated a tight-knit community of artists, centered around the Claremont Colleges, that promoted collaboration, innovation, and experimentation. They believed that art is for everyone and should be an integral part of everyday life. That legacy was embraced by subsequent generations including Betty Davenport Ford, Susan Lautmann Hertel, Harrison McIntosh and many outstanding contemporary artists. This long-standing creative esprit de corps continues to permeate the Claremont art community and is reflected in the generosity of artists, patrons, and collectors who have established the Museum and built the collection.

Discover how artist Gary Geraths made his monumental charcoal drawing, “My American Family (for Todd),” featured in the exhibition, Claremont Collects.

The Installation

The exhibition will offer a vibrant, multi-faceted experience for visitors of all ages. Co-Curators Adrienne Luce, Director; Catherine McIntosh, Board Member; and Seth Pringle will fill the museum’s three galleries with more than 60 paintings, prints, drawings, ceramics, sculptures, watercolors, and furniture by both legacy and contemporary artists. The film, “Design for Modern Living: Millard Sheets and the Claremont Art Community 1935-1975,” will be on view in the Baldonado Atrium.