Pearson Art Foundation Collection

The primary goal of the Pearson Art Foundation is to expand the appreciation of art by all members of the community, and specifically to enhance the enjoyment of art by young people. It was for this purpose that the Pearson Art Foundation made the challenge that initiated the successful fund drive to build the new Lakes Art Center back in 1991.

The collection, which began more than forty years ago under the supervision of Beverly Pearson and the late Gerald L. “Bud” Pearson, includes paintings by artists of international and national prominence. America’s First Family of Art, the Wyeths, are well represented. Paintings by the father of this remarkable family, NC Wyeth, are on display along with paintings by his son Andrew, daughter Henriette and her husband Peter Hurd, with paintings by grandsons, Jamie Wyeth and Michael Hurd, rounding out the collection of the Wyeth family art.

The ‘golden age’ of Norwegian painting is represented by the 19th Century impressionist Frits Thaulow. A favorite with visitors is the painting by Grandma Moses–a farm wife, untrained in art, who began painting in her 70's. Also in the Pearson Art Collection are works of art by Larry Rivers, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, John Singer Sargent and Frederick James Brown.