Collection: Ralph Fasanella: Americans Unseen

Fenimore Art Museum

April 1 – September 18, 2022 

Ralph Fasanella (1914-1997) is best known for his large, dynamic paintings of American politics and urban life that include crowds of people involved in struggle, protest, or celebration. These crowds, however, are mostly made up of many individuals whom the artist knew personally. Fasanella’s portraits are a lesser-known body of work, but are in fact, the building blocks for his famous works. This exhibition, the first of its kind, explores Fasanella’s portrait-making as a vital tool for staying connected with people in an intimate, emotional, personal way, in order to give meaning to their collective actions in society at large. It includes more than two dozen works spanning more than thirty years.