Joseloff Gallery Presents McCarty & Payne

C.F. Payne's portrait of President Obama appeared on the cover of Time magazine.

The Wall Street Journal commissioned Payne to create an illustration to mark the occasion of Derek Jeter's 3,000th career hit.

The cover of Peter McCarty's children's book, "Chloe."

An illustration from McCarty's book, "Chloe."

The Joseloff Gallery presents McCarty & Payne, featuring the work of noted illustrators Peter McCarty and C.F. Payne, the 2012-13 Koopman Distinguished Chairs in the Visual Arts at the Hartford Art School.

The exhibit opened this week and will continue through Feb. 24.

There will be a lecture by the artists and an artists' reception on Friday, Feb. 8. The lecture will take place from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in Wilde Auditorium, and the reception will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Joseloff Gallery.

The exhibition, as well as the lecture and reception, are free and open to the public.

Upon entering the Joseloff Gallery, visitors will see an assortment of C.F. Payne’s bright, playful portraits of well-known stars, political and sports figures. Forty-eight of Payne’s illustrations will be on view, including portraits of President Obama, Jack Nicholson, and Derek Jeter, which have appeared in Time magazine, Rolling Stone, the Wall Street Journal, and others.

Continuing into the back section of the gallery, visitors will find the sweet, subtle, book illustrations of Peter McCarty. Thirty-five of McCarty’s illustrations will be on display, including work from Caldecott Honor Book Hondo & Fabian, and New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year, Henry in Love (both books written and illustrated by McCarty).

In-process work by both artists will also be on display, showing the behind-the-scenes steps taken while creating these delightful works of art.

McCarty & Payne was organized and curated by Lisa Gaumond, managing director of the Joseloff Gallery. The exhibition was made possible, in part, through the Georgette and Richard Koopman Distinguished Chair in the Visual Arts endowment at the Hartford Art School.

The Georgette and Richard Koopman Distinguished Chair in the Visual Arts was established at the Hartford Art School in 1988 for the purpose of bringing in artists of international reputation as faculty of the art school. The chair is rotated among departments, with individuals teaching either a semester or academic year. One of the few endowed chairs in the visual arts, it has become an important part of the school. Students have the opportunity to learn directly from artists whose work is chronicled in contemporary art history.

About the artists:

C.F. Payne is an artist-illustrator whose artwork has graced the covers of Time magazine, Readers Digest, Sports Illustrated, the New York Times Book Review and Sunday magazine, MAD Magazine, der Spiegel, U.S. News and World Report, The Atlantic Monthly, Texas Monthly, Boys Life and more. He has been commissioned to paint countless politicians, authors and entertainers. He has illustrated 10 children’s picture books, including The Remarkable Farkle McBride and Micawber, written by John Lithgow.

Payne's artwork has been exhibited at The Cincinnati Art Museum, The National Portrait Gallery, The Norman Rockwell Museum, The Society of Illustrators Museum of American Illustration, The Selby Gallery at Ringling College of Art and Design and numerous college and university galleries.

Visit Payne's website at www.cfpayne.com.

Peter McCarty’s own experience as the middle child growing up in a large family inspired Chloe. He has written and illustrated several books for children, including Henry in Love, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year, in which Chloe makes her debut. He is also the author and illustrator of Hondo & Fabian, a Caldecott Honor Book and New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year, and its sequel, Fabian Escapes; T is for Terrible; Little Bunny on the Move; and Moon Plane, a Charlotte Zolotow Award winner. 

Visit Mccarty's website at www.petermccarty.net

Joseloff Gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. For more information, go to www.joseloffgallery.org.