A collection of award-winning art by Peterborough artist Lee Dunholter will be on display in the Daniels Room at the Hancock Town Library beginning Saturday.
The exhibit will include some works from Dunholter’s recent series “MidWay” – a collection of acrylic paintings, both large and small, illustrating carnival food concession stands. The exhibit also will include acrylic paintings from his “Studies in Black and White,” several paintings from his newest collection “Windows,” and a sampling of color pencil drawings and acrylic paintings that reveal the artist’s whimsical nature.
Professor Emeritus at Franklin Pierce University in Rindge and a 2015 recipient of the Ewing Arts Award, Dunholter has a professional background that is as varied and colorful as the works in his show.
After graduating from high school and training as a draftsman, he discovered an interest in the theater, which led to an apprenticeship in that field and to his enrolling in the Cincinnati Art Academy. From there, Dunholter went to New York City and worked on theater sets until moving to Baltimore, Maryland, where he eventually became head lighting director of a professional theater and started teaching at the Baltimore Art Institute.
He moved to California, worked briefly in Hollywood in the movie industry, and soon headed to Santa Barbara, where he supported himself as a painter.
Then, he returned to the East Coast, took a position as lighting designer and later as set designer for the Boston Light Opera Company. From there he went back across the country to Canada to attend the Banff School of Fine Arts for scenic design, and then returned to New England and eventually wound up in Peterborough, where he spent years as scenic designer for the Peterborough Players and as a professor at Franklin Pierce.
There will be an artist’s reception on Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. The show, which will run through May 12, can be viewed during regular library hours, Monday and Wednesday, 2 to 6 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call the library at 525-4411.