From the Fine Art Connoisseur July/August 2026 Editor’s Note:
My springtime involved lots of art and travel. On two occasions, coincidentally both in New England, I encountered outstanding initiatives that epitomize everything Fine Art Connoisseur encourages. 
First came an evening at the New Salem Museum & Academy of Fine Art (NSMA), in central Massachusetts, opened to the public in 2024. I had been invited by founder Laura Barletta and director Michael Klein to MC their announcement of the winners of the second annual NSMA International Painting Competition. The museum was filled (and remains so until August 16) with marvelous contemporary realist paintings submitted from around the world, all juried in by NSMA’s leaders. The website can’t do justice to their quality and variety; anyone who worries that ours is a field of Rembrandt copycats should visit soon to get their minds blown.
Especially thrilling was the Grand Prize Acquisition Award ($35,000 cash, plus a permanent spot in the collection). Instead of one juror, the finalists themselves voted, guaranteeing not only quality but also the respect of fellow artists. The room exploded when T. Allen Lawson’s wonderful “End of Day” (illustrated below) got the nod. Camaraderie filled the galleries, reminding everyone that realism is thriving and engaging a notably younger cohort of well-trained talents.
Soon after, I visited the Westerly Museum of American Impressionism, located in south-western Rhode Island and opened last autumn. I was welcomed by its founders — Thomas P. Sculco, M.D., and his wife, Cynthia D. Sculco — and the director, Catherine Shotick. Based in New York City, the Sculcos grew up in this scenic region and return often; they have displayed their collection of paintings in a self-effacing new-build overlooking the Pawcatuck River. I knew I would enjoy sterling examples by such impressionist stars as Childe Hassam, Edmund C. Tarbell, Frank W. Benson, and John Singer Sargent, but I was equally enamored with superb works by less familiar talents in this period (1880s–1920s), including many women. The 150 paintings on view now comprise roughly half of what the Sculcos own, so in years ahead we will enjoy intriguing rotations and focus exhibitions.
The Westerly Museum’s emergence reminds us there are still areas of historical art yet to be explored. And, like New Salem, it has arisen thanks to private collectors, who have always been the driving force in American culture. (Our National Gallery of Art was the gift of financier Andrew W. Mellon, not of Congress.)
The Fine Art Connoisseur team encourages you and other collectors to savor your acquiring journeys, and to consider how your treasures might be shared with the public down the line. There are successful role models nationwide, and we stand ready to help by pointing them out and making introductions.
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Story prepared for the web by Cherie Dawn Haas, Editor of Fine Art Today
