Painting of Beatrice Fox Auerbach. Courtesy image
An exhibit containing the works of painter Sylvia Davis-Patricelli will open at the Noah Webster House on May 27.
Submitted by Sarah M. St. Germain, Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society
The Noah Webster House is opening an exhibit that will contain the the works of artist Sylvia Davis-Patricelli.
Patricelli’s daughter, Susan Patricelli-Regan, generously donated nine of her paintings to the Noah Webster House and the West Hartford Historical Society.
On Wednesday, May 27 at 5:30 p.m., the exhibit opening will take place at the museum featuring these and other works by Patricelli.
In addition, at 6 p.m. Susan will discuss her mother’s life and legacy as part of the West Hartford History lecture series.
The exhibit is a retrospective of Sylvia’s work, including her time as a teacher at the West Hartford Art League and a highly recognized commissioned portrait artist.
Many of these works have not been exhibited in 10 years, and some have never been seen outside of the private collection.
Several of the works will be available for purchase with 20 percent of the purchase price being donated to the Noah Webster House and a Sylvia Davis-Patricelli scholarship that is to be awarded to a 2016 West Hartford high school graduate student pursuing a career in the fine arts.
Sylvia was born in New South Wales, Australia and was an outstanding student at the Royal Academy of Fine Art at the age of 15.
At the age of 20, Sylvia accompanied her father on a gold-mining expedition to Guadalcanal. She quickly became a celebrity after completing 80 paintings of the Solomon Island natives and their landscape.
The wife of the Governor General of Australia was her patroness for an exhibit in Sydney. At that exhibition, a painting was sold that now hangs in Windsor Castle.
Sylvia arrived in West Hartford as an American war bride at age 23 and became a commissioned portrait artist. In 1951, a second exhibit of her works was opened by Eleanor Roosevelt and Beatrice Fox Auerbach G. Fox & Company.
The museum is open Thursday-Monday from 1-4 p.m. during the summer. Regular admission applies.
The Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society is located at 227 South Main St. in West Hartford, CT.
The museum strives to be a destination where citizens can learn to understand and appreciate their past and Noah Webster. Webster was a national figure best known for writing the first American dictionary.
The historic house and exhibit spaces are open daily 1-4 p.m. Thursday through Monday. For information on the museum’s extensive school and public programs, please visit www.noahwebsterhouse.org or call (860) 521-5362.
Potrait of General Douglas McArthur. Courtesy image
