The Art of It
Mount Equinox Summer by Rockwell Kent. Oil on canvas, 1940.
Late last year, Southern Vermont Arts Center( SVAC) announced a transformative gift from Lyman Orton: his acclaimed art collection, For the Love of Vermont: The Lyman Orton Collection, along with the funding for a major expansion of Yester House, the historic centerpiece of SVAC’ s campus. Together, these gifts represent a landmark moment for SVAC and a lasting cultural legacy for the people of Vermont.
The expansion of Yester House adds more than 10,000 square feet of new gallery and collection space, designed to house the Orton Collection and to host tempo-
78 VERMONT MAGAZINE rary exhibitions, a roof terrace, and modern storage facilities. Every element of the project reflects Orton’ s focus on accessibility, comfort, and community.
First exhibited in 2023 at the Bennington Museum and SVAC, For the Love of Vermont includes more than 250 works by artists who defined Vermont’ s“ golden era,” among them Asa Cheffetz, Rockwell Kent, Luigi Lucioni, Kyra Markham, Marion Huse, Bernadine Custer, and William Dean Fausett. These works will join SVAC’ s permanent collection of approximately 1,000 pieces, enriching its holdings and its reach.
A grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony will be held on Sunday, June 7 at SVAC in Manchester, VT. There will be live entertainment, gallery tours, and more from 3pm to 5pm.
About the Artist
Rockwell Kent( 1882 – 1971) had a deep connection to Vermont, living on a 200- acre farm on the slopes of Red Mountain in Arlington, Vermont, from 1919 to 1925. This six-year period served as a critical turning point that solidified his status as a highly influential American painter, printmaker, illustrator, writer, and adventurer. He blended