How do artists look? How does an artist perceive and portray individuals in portraiture? And what if those individuals – their subjects – are fellow artists themselves?  The exhibition Face to Face is a unique exploration of artists painting other artists. The exhibition will begin with nineteenth and early twentieth century artists, such as William Sidney Mount, Shepard Alonzo Mount, William Merritt Chase, Irving Wiles, and Fairfield Porter, but will, in all, feature approximately 60 works by more than 30 contemporary artists (many working at least part of the year on Long Island) who have taken turns sitting for studio portraits of one another.

It turns out that artists themselves make ideal subjects. They understand the patience required in sitting for a portrait, and the importance of light, color, and texture filtered through brushes, canvas, paint, and the artist’s eye. Artists also inspire each other. They often live or work near one another, regularly show their work and give feedback, and have formed distinct communities scattered throughout the region. This exhibition was the brainchild of artists Douglas Reina and Ty Stroudsburg, who have assisted in reaching out to the regional community of painters from our area. We invite you to come see how artists see and represent one another.