A Century of Edmund Charles Tarbell
From his first posthumous exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston in 1917 to the Tarbell Charitable Trust's ongoing lending program today, ECT's legacy has been celebrated, studied, and kept alive for more than one hundred years.
The Tarbell Charitable Trust actively lends works from its collection to institutions whose missions align with
the preservation and public enjoyment of American art.
Tarbell Charitable Trust Collection Exhibitions
Below you see ECT’s painting of his son, daughter and beloved Russian Wolfhound.
Edmund Mary and Sergius, formerly was displayed in “The Studio”, the childhood home of Elizabeth Souther, Mark Alan and Charles Arnold Tarbell in New Castle New Hampshire. Now offered for public viewing because of Daniel Webster Badger Tarbell, the visionary behind the Tarbell Charitable Trust.
2013
Groton and the Boston School of Painting: Works by Edmund C. Tarbell, R. H. Ives Gammell, and Mary Minifie
de Menil Gallery, Groton School · Groton, Massachusetts
This exhibition brought the Boston School tradition home to the town where ECT was born — placing his work alongside R. H. Ives Gammell and Mary Minifie, two artists who carried his artistic legacy forward. For Groton, it was a homecoming. For the Trust, it was the beginning of the community partnership that will culminate in the 2030 exhibition.
2014
Edmund Tarbell
President's Gallery, Guild of Boston Artists · Boston, Massachusetts
The Guild of Boston Artists, one of the oldest and most respected artist organizations in New England, dedicated its President's Gallery to a focused exhibition of ECT's work.
The Guild has been home to Boston School artists since 1914 and remains a living institution in the tradition ECT helped found.
2016
Illuminating Tarbell: Life and Art on the Piscataqua
Portsmouth Historical Society / Discover Portsmouth · Portsmouth, New Hampshire
This exhibition explored ECT's summers on the Piscataqua River in Newcastle, New Hampshire, the period that produced some of his most intimate and celebrated work.
The river compound where ECT painted each summer was also where his great-granddaughter Elizabeth Tarbell grew up. The exhibition was accompanied by a published catalogue.
Edmund Charles Tarbell in the Museum Record
From his first major posthumous exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston to a landmark retrospective at the Currier Museum of Art, ECT's work has been recognized, exhibited, and studied by
the most significant institutions in American art history.
1917
Memorial Exhibition of Paintings by Edmund C. Tarbell
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston · Boston, Massachusetts
Among the first major museum exhibitions to honor ECT's legacy, this memorial exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, where Tarbell spent much of his professional life, established him as one of the defining figures of American Impressionism. The MFA has held significant ECT works in its permanent collection ever since.
1938
Frank W. Benson and Edmund C. Tarbell: Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings and Prints
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston · Boston, Massachusetts
This joint exhibition paired ECT with his lifelong colleague and fellow Boston School co-founder Frank W. Benson, offering a comprehensive view of the movement they built together. It remains one of the most significant paired retrospectives in the history of American Impressionism.
1979
Two American Impressionists: Frank W. Benson and Edmund C. Tarbell
University Art Galleries, University of New Hampshire · Durham, New Hampshire
This academic exhibition at the University of New Hampshire brought scholarly attention to both Tarbell and Benson at a moment when American Impressionism was experiencing renewed critical interest. An accompanying catalogue established foundational research still referenced today.
1994
American Impressionism and Realism: The Painting of Modern Life, 1885-1915
Metropolitan Museum of Art · New York, New York
One of the first major museum exhibitions to place American Impressionists and Realists together in the context of modern life.
2001–2002
Impressionism Transformed: The Paintings of Edmund C. Tarbell
Currier Museum of Art · Manchester, New Hampshire
Described at the time as the most important exhibition of ECT's paintings since his death in 1938, this landmark retrospective organized by the Currier Museum of Art brought together 42 works, many recently rediscovered and on public view for the first time in half a century.
The accompanying fully illustrated catalogue, with essays by scholars from Bowdoin College and the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, remains the most comprehensive scholarly resource on ECT's work.
2013
Groton and the Boston School of Painting: Works by Edmund C. Tarbell, R. H. Ives Gammell, and Mary Minifie
de Menil Gallery, Groton School · Groton, Massachusetts
See TCT Collection Exhibitions above.
2014
Edmund Tarbell
President's Gallery, Guild of Boston Artists · Boston, Massachusetts
See TCT Collection Exhibitions above.
2016
Illuminating Tarbell: Life and Art on the Piscataqua
Portsmouth Historical Society / Discover Portsmouth · Portsmouth, New Hampshire
See TCT Collection Exhibitions above.
Major Publications and Catalogues
The following publications and exhibition catalogues form the primary scholarly record on
Edmund Charles Tarbell's work and legacy.
1979, ‘Two American Impressionists: Frank W. Benson and Edmund C. Tarbell’. Exhibition catalogue · University of New Hampshire
Foundational academic study pairing ECT with Frank W. Benson, his Boston School co-founder.
1980, Patricia Jobe Pierce. ‘Edmund C. Tarbell and the Boston School of Painting’.
The first comprehensive monograph on ECT and the movement he co-founded. Still considered essential reading in the field.
2001, Lauren Buckley. ‘Edmund C. Tarbell: Poet of Domesticity’. Hudson Hills Press.
A richly illustrated study of ECT's domestic interior paintings — the body of work for which he is perhaps best known today.
2001, Susan Strickler, Linda Jones Docherty, and Erica E. Hirshler. ‘Impressionism Transformed: The Paintings of Edmund C. Tarbell’.Currier Gallery of Art.
The landmark catalogue accompanying the most important ECT retrospective since his death. Essays by scholars from Bowdoin College and the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. Distributed through University Press of New England.
2016.
2016, ‘Illuminating Tarbell: Life and Art on the Piscataqua’. Exhibition catalogue · Portsmouth Historical Society
Documents ECT's summers in Newcastle, New Hampshire — the period that produced some of his most intimate and celebrated work.