Art Exhibitions

Every few months the Sherman Library, as part of our effort to promote cultural enrichment, features the works of a selected local artist. Over the course of a year, many different types of art can be seen such as traditional, abstract, watercolors, oils, pastels, as well as photography. Not only is the artwork enjoyed by library visitors…it’s for sale. In fact, a percentage of any sale is donated by the artist to the Sherman Library.

If you are interested in showing your art at the Sherman Library please contact us at SLPrograms@biblio.org

Our Current Exhibition

“At the Easel”

Art Show June 12th - July 11th, 2025

The Sherman Library is pleased to present a new art show: ”At The Easel” impressionistic oil paintings by Susan Grisell. Grisell considers her work a visual diary, an attempt to suggest her impression of an arrangement of objects or of a specific place on a particular day with the viewer left to interpret.

Grisell works primarily in oil and whenever possible from life. She's a representational painter who prefers not to be pigeonholed in a specific category, though she's sometimes referred to as an Impressionist. Her subjects are clearly recognizable, but not rendered in great detail, in order to give the viewer room for interpretation. She does not wish to lecture the viewer, but to invite a dialogue.

A professional painter for all of her adult life, Grisell has been painting for over fifty years, She studied with a neighbor, Bernard Lennon of Gaylordsville, who insisted that she work with a palette knife, rather than a brush, for a full year, in order to develop a flexible wrist and to avoid bad habits when moving between areas of color on the canvas.

Susan began exhibiting in outdoor shows at 18, and took her first award, an Honorable Mention at the Washington Square Outdoor Art Show, a year later. She won numerous awards , including several Best in Shows, before quitting outdoor exhibits in 2019. Recently, she won the "Best Wild Places Award" last October at Litchfield's inaugural Plein Air event, and in April took the "Barbara Goodspeed Award" at SCAN's Spring exhibit in Newtown.

The artist's reception will be held on Friday, July 11, 2025 from 6 - 8pm. The show will be on display at the Sherman Library from June 13 through July 23, 2025.