UPCOMING

In celebration of our country’s 250th Anniversary, Barbara Prey Projects is pleased to present three upcoming exhibitions by internationally acclaimed artist Barbara Prey this summer:

BARBARA PREY: 250th–The American Landscape Oil Painting     July 1 – July 12

BARBARA PREY: 250th–The American Landscape Watercolor      July 13 – Sept 7

The American Landscape Abroad Art in Embassies                         Aug 10 – Sept  7                                                 

BARBARA PREY: 250th–The American Landscape Oil Painting

 Her attention to details recalls Vermeer…it’s a painter’s job to notice, and to draw out the nuance and light in what the rest of us ignore.  Prey has that eye and hand … what she makes touches the divine and has staying power.           -The Boston Globe

With her keen artist’s eye, esteemed American artist Barbara Prey explores the American landscape in a striking collection of previously unseen oil paintings.  Prey has spent her career painting America, American stories and the world around her, capturing the enduring importance of the natural environment and the intricate ways in which we inhabit and engage with it. These works delve into the landscapes of her immediate surroundings, offering an intimate and reflective view of place.

Drawing on her distinguished academic background in art history from Williams College and Harvard University, Prey continues to push the boundaries of her artistic expression. Her paintings engage deeply with themes of memory and art history while offering a fresh, contemporary reinterpretation of the American landscape, contributing to the evolving narrative of American art. Her work has been exhibited in major museums alongside artists from Monet and Cezanne to Jackson Pollock, situating her practice within a broader historical dialogue.

Known for her monumental watercolor works, Prey’s new oil paintings stand in deliberate contrast. Smaller in scale and created en plein air, these intimate works capture a raw, gestural energy. The brushstrokes feel impulsive yet intentional, revealing a sense of immediacy and presence. This approach invites viewers into the artist’s lived experience of the landscape, offering rare insight into her creative process.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Barbara Prey is considered one of America’s foremost painters. Her recently completed commission for MASS MoCA, described as a “technical tour de force” by commissioning Director Joe Thompson, is the largest watercolor ever exhibited. Her paintings are in the collections of the National Gallery of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the White House, the Kennedy Space Center, among many other public and private collections including Tom Hanks and Orlando Bloom.

For over a decade she has been a Presidential Appointee to the National Council for the Arts, the governing body of the National Endowment for the Arts. In 2003 her painting of the Diplomatic Reception Room was featured on the White House Christmas card. With dozens of artworks commissioned by government agencies and institutions, such as four paintings for NASA, Prey is a global ambassador for American Art. Tapped annually for the U.S. Art in Embassies program, Prey’s work has been on display in over one hundred U.S. Embassies and Consulates worldwide, including those in Paris, Hong Kong, and Madrid. Her painting Gallantly Streaming is currently on exhibit in the lobby of the U.S. Mission to the U.N. and three others in the Ambassadors Office.

Prey earned a Bachelor’s degree from Williams College, where she is an adjunct faculty member, and a Master’s degree from Harvard University. She has received numerous institutional accolades, including a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation, a Fulbright Scholarship and the New York Senate’s “Women of Distinction” Award, joining Eleanor Roosevelt and Susan B. Anthony,  awarded to outstanding New York women.