William Congdon’s “Mayan Temple No. 1” (Abbey collection)

Within the pages of this newsletter last March, comments were floated regarding the idea of a campus art museum, which in turn elicited positive dialogue from several Portsmouth constituents both past and present. The spark came from an overview of the large number of works located throughout the campus created by that month’s featured artist, Alfonso Ossorio ’34 (1916-1990), primarily a gift in 2003 from the late artist’s foundation, naming Portsmouth Abbey School as the beneficiary of the collection. Until such time that a dedicated large exhibition space comes into existence, the McEvoy Gallery of the McGuire Fine Arts Center ably holds place of rank in exhibiting fine art showings at Portsmouth. The gallery is curated by Mr. Mark Nadeau, Head of Visual Arts, and recent offerings have included the work of both faculty and staff, as well as of students.

Last spring the gallery presented an expansive collection of abstract works by this month’s “Artist of the Abbey,” William Grosvenor Congdon (1912-1998), whose life was roughly contemporaneous with Ossorio. Titled A Life’s Journey: A Collection of Works of William Congdon, it drew a wide range of viewers from campus and the surrounding area, from town and gown, during its run from May 1 - June 1, 2023. Mr. Nadeau was ably assisted in his curatorial work by Richard Berkemeier, a local private art collector and together they even produced a short video promoting the collection in advance of the opening.