Join us for the opening reception of For the Love of Vermont, showcasing over 200 works of art that capture Vermont’s unique character, people, traditions and landscape prior to the 1970’s from the collection of Lyman Orton, proprietor of the Vermont Country Store, will be unveiled to the public in an unprecedented collaboration by two of Vermont’s most celebrated museums — Southern Vermont Arts Center and Bennington Museum. The collection came together for one reason: Lyman Orton, a man on a mission who believes art is history and has curated a living time capsule of life in Vermont and the painters who painted Vermont over decades. He is now sharing his collection with Vermonters and all who love Vermont. For more details about the collection visit fortheloveofvermont.com.

Along with the opening of the exhibition, a 220-page book tells the story of how Orton assembled the collection over many years while still running The Vermont Country Store. It is also packed with photographs of the paintings, as well as stories of the artists and their love of Vermont. For the Love of Vermont: The Lyman Orton Collection, authored in collaboration with Orton, by Anita Rafael, a writer living and working in Wardsboro, VT, will be available Spring 2023 at the Vermont Country Store and in the SVAC Museum shop.

Image: Marion Huse, Red Barn & Chicken Coop