New Salem Museum and Academy of Fine Art

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Creating a Stronghold for Contemporary Realist Art - Permanent Collection, Special Exhibitions, Workshops with World Renowned Artists, Weekly Figure Drawing Group

We are proud to announce our Boston debut exhibition at the St. Botolph Club at 199 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston’s Back...
05/21/2026

We are proud to announce our Boston debut exhibition at the St. Botolph Club at 199 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston’s Back Bay. The show opened 5/20 and will run through September 4th. The Club is private but the exhibition will be open to the public on Wednesdays between 2pm-4pm or by appointment. Please contact the St Botolph Club at 617-536-7570 for more information about visiting.

We are most grateful to magazine for the fantastic article about our Painting Competition in their most recent publicat...
05/20/2026

We are most grateful to magazine for the fantastic article about our Painting Competition in their most recent publication! Check it out!

🏆 CONGRATULATIONS to  for winning the NSMA 2026 Competition Director’s Choice Award, generously sponsored by for her pa...
05/10/2026

🏆 CONGRATULATIONS to  for winning the NSMA 2026 Competition Director’s Choice Award, generously sponsored by for her painting “Last Light” – Rose was awarded a $2,500 Michael Harding gift certificate, chosen by NSMA Director  at the Awards Ceremony 🏆

Michael Harding is world-renowned for producing high-performance artist materials of uncompromising quality — grounded in the techniques of the Old Masters, made with ethically sourced ingredients, and formulated for the demands of today’s serious painters who demand the best.

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Last Light, 2025
Oil on linen
44 x 52

“Last Light meditates on the passing of a day, a life, questioning the setting sun. Are we seeing this light for the final time, or is the light that fills the eyes something new? A mortal man steps forward from a dark space, his arm bandaged, covering his latest wounds. Sagging, he stands upright. Recently, he danced. Soon, he will pull over to the side of the road, knowing that he is dying. Perhaps, at this threshold, he sees the light. Is it a golden reflection of all that has been, or is it also a luminous beginning?

“Chuck Aucoin was an enigmatic Canadian who cheerily started his career as an art model in his eighties with my class being his first time posing fully n**e. What tickled him so much was that as a young man, when folks asked him what he did for a living, he said he was a n**e model – the irony being that he was a monk at the time. I invited him to Iowa to model for a few weeks. We created seven paintings together, one of which was a large study for Last Light. In 2025-2026 I had time to re-examine the study and create a new narrative that acknowledges Chuck’s passing. From a solid practice of years working directly from life, my work gravitates toward layers of expressions, incorporating numerous styles, mediums, and materials while still revolving around the figural and the organic. Over the years, these efforts evolved into installations, series, and singular works such as Last Light.”

🏆 CONGRATULATIONS to  for winning the NSMA 2026 Competition Small Work $5,000 Acquisition Award for his painting “Path b...
05/10/2026

🏆 CONGRATULATIONS to  for winning the NSMA 2026 Competition Small Work $5,000 Acquisition Award for his painting “Path by the lake” to join NSMA’s permanent collection! 🏆

What makes this award so unique is its method of selection – rather than a single juror or panel selecting the winners, the finalists themselves determined the recipient of the Acquisition Awards. Each finalist had the opportunity to cast votes for their favorite works in the exhibition – excluding their own – in a ranked choice voting system, ensuring that the museum acquires a piece that is not only of the highest artistic merit, but also one that is most admired by the very artists who stand among the best of their field.

We are beyond thrilled that Fabrice Grimard’s gorgeous painting is joining NSMA’s permanent collection, and can’t wait to display it for years to come 🎉🎉🎉

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Path by the lake, 2025
Oil on Linen panel
13.75 x 8

Fabrice Grimard is a classically trained painter devoted to the enduring disciplines of painting and drawing.

His artistic formation began at the Académie des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, where he completed two foundational years of study, before continuing at the Grand Central Atelier in New York. There, he completed the atelier’s rigorous four-year program, centered on academic draftsmanship and the principles of classical realism.

Following his studies at GCA, Fabrice spent two months in Norway studying under the renowned painter Odd Nerdrum, further deepening his understanding of composition and narrative in painting.

Fabrice’s work reflects a search for beauty as the proper organization of truths made visible.

Path by the Lake is a study made from life, painted outdoors in the cold Canadian winter, the kind of direct observation that remains at the core of his practice.

🏆 CONGRATULATIONS to ._allen_lawson for winning the NSMA 2026 Competition Grand Prize – a $35,000 Acquisition Award for...
05/10/2026

🏆 CONGRATULATIONS to ._allen_lawson for winning the NSMA 2026 Competition Grand Prize – a $35,000 Acquisition Award for his painting “End of Day” to join NSMA’s permanent collection! 🏆

What makes this award so unique is its method of selection – rather than a single juror or panel selecting the winners, the finalists themselves determined the recipient of the Acquisition Awards. Each finalist had the opportunity to cast votes for their favorite works in the exhibition – excluding their own – in a ranked choice voting system, ensuring that the museum acquires a piece that is not only of the highest artistic merit, but also one that is most admired by the very artists who stand among the best of their field.

We are beyond thrilled that T. Allen Lawson’s painting is joining NSMA’s permanent collection, and can’t wait to display it for years to come! 🎉🎉🎉

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End of Day, 2024
Oil on Linen Mounted on Cradled Panel
25 x 30

“When passing this subject early one afternoon, I first thought little of it. I stopped to observe the scene but decided to continue my exploration. The barn, rather nondescript compared with so many others nearby, didn’t grab me – or, at least, didn’t excite me enough to do preliminary drawings. Later in the day, as the sun neared the horizon I began to retrace my route, and passed the location a second time. What a difference the few hours made!

“What had been nondescript, now silhouetted against the early evening sky, demanded attention. The glowing sky illuminated the faults and fractures of the barn’s imperfections and off to the side, heavy farm equipment had returned from the fields and was parked for the night.

“Raised in Wyoming, I am aware of the difficulties of trying to stay ahead of the tasks it takes to keep a ranch running. Having cleared several acres of woods and created a small farm on the coast of Maine, I know first-hand the seemingly endless chores that must be continually done just to keep up. The days simply don’t seem long enough, and the end of day, at times, can feel like your only respite.”

An exquisite award created just for us by .e.guerin.
05/10/2026

An exquisite award created just for us by .e.guerin.

Thank you for sponsoring our Director’s Award this year!
05/10/2026

Thank you for sponsoring our Director’s Award this year!

Please note that we will be closed for painting rotation and a private event from May 6th until May 9th. We will reopen...
05/01/2026

Please note that we will be closed for painting rotation and a private event from May 6th until May 9th. We will reopen for regular business hours on May 10th (Mother’s Day) with all new paintings from the finalists of our Annual Painting Competition! Don’t miss it!

POST 4/4 – We are thrilled to announce the finalists of the New Salem Museum and Academy of Fine Art’s 2026 Internationa...
03/10/2026

POST 4/4 – We are thrilled to announce the finalists of the New Salem Museum and Academy of Fine Art’s 2026 International Painting Competition!

This competition has been a long-standing vision of ours, and seeing it come to life in its second year has been an incredible experience. With nearly 1,600 submissions from artists around the world, the selection process was both inspiring and immensely challenging. We firmly believe that the works selected for the Finalists’ Exhibition represent some of the finest paintings featured in any formal painting competition today. The level of craftsmanship, artistic vision, and dedication demonstrated by each finalist is truly inspiring, and we are honored to be showcasing these works at NSMA in our Finalists’ Exhibition, on view Wednesday May 13th – Sunday August 16th.

We invite you to explore the selected works in detail on our website and celebrate these artists alongside us, as well as learn about our exciting award lineup and exhibition dates! Click the link in our bio or navigate directly to:

NewSalemMuseum.com/Competition

POST 3/4 – We are thrilled to announce the finalists of the New Salem Museum and Academy of Fine Art’s 2026 Internationa...
03/10/2026

POST 3/4 – We are thrilled to announce the finalists of the New Salem Museum and Academy of Fine Art’s 2026 International Painting Competition!

This competition has been a long-standing vision of ours, and seeing it come to life in its second year has been an incredible experience. With nearly 1,600 submissions from artists around the world, the selection process was both inspiring and immensely challenging. We firmly believe that the works selected for the Finalists’ Exhibition represent some of the finest paintings featured in any formal painting competition today. The level of craftsmanship, artistic vision, and dedication demonstrated by each finalist is truly inspiring, and we are honored to be showcasing these works at NSMA in our Finalists’ Exhibition, on view Wednesday May 13th – Sunday August 16th.

We invite you to explore the selected works in detail on our website and celebrate these artists alongside us, as well as learn about our exciting award lineup and exhibition dates! Click the link in our bio or navigate directly to:

NewSalemMuseum.com/Competition

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37 South Main Street
New Salem, MA
01355

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