Sixty years ago, Burt Chernow had a vision.
The Greens Farms Elementary School art teacher — a well-known artist himself — believed that every Westport student should experience art every day.
Burt Chernow
He began collecting works. Through his network of local, then national and international artists — and soon, their contacts — he built an impressive collection.
Today the Westport Public Art Collections include over 2,000 paintings, photographs, sculptures and more. They are displayed in every school, municipal buildings like Town Hall, the Senior Center and Fire Department headquarters, and in outdoor parks.
Anne Boberski co-chairs WestPAC, with Jennifer Fridland. Like everyone else in the organization, she is a volunteer.
Boberski — who has curated exhibits at large museums — got involved with WestPAC in 2019, soon after moving here.
The collection is “integral to Westport’s identity,” she says. But there is so much WestPAC art all around, we sometimes take it for granted.
“Giants of the Blues,” for example — Westport artist Eric von Schmidt’s remarkable 7-piece work of American blues, jazz and folk musicians from the 1920s through ’60s, which hangs in the Staples High School auditorium lobby, and on surrounding walls — is scarcely noticed by the students and staff members who pass by every day.
“Blues Piano Players” — one of 7 works by Eric von Schmidt that make up “Giants of the Blues” — moves from Staples to MoCA CT in February.
The enormous works — which von Schmidt donated to WestPAC, rather than the Smithsonian — deserve a broader audience.
From February 26 through April 26, they’ll be shown as part of MoCA’s “Art, Jazz and the Blues” exhibit.
That illustrates one of WestPAC’s dilemmas. Though Chernow’s original vision was to bring art to students, school hallways, classrooms and offices are not always accessible to the public. As security has tightened in recent years, it’s harder than ever for non-school personnel to enjoy so much remarkable art.
Stevan Dohanos’ work — with Staples students as models, later used as a Saturday Evening Post cover — has been on display in various sites. In 2016, it hung at Staples High School.
So — in addition to town buildings — the organization has partnered with MoCA CT, the Westport Library and the Parks & Recreation Department.
Tonight (Wednesday), for example, the Library hosts a reception (6 p.m.) and talk by guest curator Arthur Nager (7 p.m.) for its new exhibit, “Every Picture Tells a Story: Photographs From the Westport Public Art Collections.” It’s on view through December 16.
Inside the schools too, WestPAC is trying to make their collections stand out more. They’re installing “dedicated gallery spaces,” with temporary rails, to highlight their works.
They’re also collaborating with art, social studies and English teachers, to incorporate each school’s collection into curriculums.
Meanwhile, WestPAC continues to do its work. Members are adding to the collections, preserving and conserving older ones, and looking for new spots — like the latest, Grace K. Salmon and Canal Parks — to share Westport’s remarkable arts legacy with everyone.
Emily Teall’s “Tulips” has been installed at Grace Salmon Park. (Photo/Kelly Pollard)
(To celebrate WestPAC’s 60th anniversary, they’re seeking donations to help care for, frame, conserve and otherwise aid the collection. Click here, or send to WestPAC, Box 92, Westport, CT 06881. For more information on WestPAC, click here.)
Bernard Chaet’s oil painting “Sunset Through the Trees” was an early gift to WestPAC. In 2023, Friends of WestPAC and the Westport Arts Advisory had it professionally cleaned and conserved.
(“06880” reports regularly on Westport’s arts and education scenes. If you enjoy stories like this, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
