NEW LONDON, CONN.- The Lyman Allyn Art Museum announced the opening of a major new exhibition on June 19 highlighting the art and teaching legacy of Frank Vincent DuMond (1865-1951). The first exhibition in twenty years to focus on DuMond, The Prismatic Palette: Frank Vincent DuMond and His Students explores the artist’s career in depth, with nearly 60 works of art drawn from private and public collections. The exhibition will be on view through Oct. 3.

A key figure in American art and art education, DuMond is known for his lush green landscapes and for the important role he played in the Lyme Art Colony in the early 20th century. He taught at the Art Students League of New York for 59 years, instructing multiple generations of artists, including such notable figures as John Marin, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Norman Rockwell. The exhibition, spread through three gallery rooms, will emphasize the work of some students as well as explore the enduring impact of Dumond’s “prismatic palette.”

Dumond was a skilled painter and draftsman with great technical facility and a keen eye for color. He began his study at the Art Students League in New York in 1884, and then studied in Paris at the Academie Julian from 1889 to 1891. While abroad, DuMond produced illustrations for Harpers Weekly, and his illustration work expanded after his return to the U.S. DuMond began teaching at the Art Students League of New York in 1892, and soon spent summers teaching and painting landscapes en plein air. DuMond and his wife Helen, also an artist, were early members of the Lyme Art Colony and purchased a home in Lyme, CT in 1906.

The Prismatic Palette highlights DuMond’s enduring contributions to art instruction and color theory. His impact as a teacher lies not just with the many artists he helped train, but also with his art pedagogy and painting techniques, which were passed on to subsequent generations by Frank Mason and other students and are still being taught today. DuMond’s “prismatic palette” offers an important and influential method of pre-mixing color strings that has been helpful for students, particularly for plein air painting.

The exhibition’s curator Dr. Tanya Pohrt notes, “We are thrilled to be exhibiting such exquisite works of art. The exhibition reveals DuMond’s diverse talents and explores his influential career as an art educator.”