Sylvia Alberts

Lighthouse Gallery Diptych

Oil on board, 2004. 12″ x 24″.

Lorraine’s Room

Oil on canvas, 1999. 14″ x 11″.

Barn and Silo

Oil on board, 1975. 11″ x 14″.

Born in New York City in 1928, Sylvia Alberts studied at Northwestern University and New York University. A self-taught artist since the 1960s, she began spending full summers on Monhegan Island in 1973, and continued to do so until her death in 2015.

Early in her career, Alberts was recognized as a folk artist, but after she began painting on Monhegan she moved to what she has described as a “designed realism.” In her landscapes, Alberts captures the delicacy and splendor of island cloud formations and the brilliance of the sun’s reflection on the sea surrounding Monhegan. Her paintings of the island often include island architecture –cottages, fish houses, the Monhegan Museum – simplified, and often in silhouette. Her still-life paintings frequently feature well-loved objects from the artist’s island studio on Lighthouse Hill. Many have a playful quality, and all are notable for their finely balanced compositions described with exquisite clarity and startling, vibrant colors.

Sylvia Alberts’ work has been exhibited widely, including at the Washington Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; and Jay Johnson American Folk Heritage Gallery in New York. Museum collections include The American Museum in Bath, England, and the Mulvane Art Museum in Topeka, Kansas.

Read more about Sylvia Alberts

Born: New York, NY
Education: Northwestern University and New York University

Solo Exhibitions:

  • 2013 Lupine Gallery, Monhegan, ME
  • 2003 Island Inn, Monhegan, ME
  • 1995 Frank J. Miele Gallery, New York, NY
  • 1992 Frank J. Miele Gallery, New York, NY
  • 1982 Jay Johnson Gallery, New York, NY
  • 1977 Washington Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
  • 1975 Washington Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

Two-Person Exhibitions:

  • 1993 Jay Johnson Gallery, New York, NY
  • 1989 Jay Johnson Gallery, New York, NY
  • 1984 Jay Johnson Gallery, New York, NY
  • 1978 Stephen Gemberling, New York, NY

Group Exhibitions:

  • 1986 to present   Lupine Gallery, Monhegan, ME
  • 1993 through 2010   Kerygma Gallery, Ridgewood, NJ
  • 1991 through 1995   Frank J. Miele Gallery, New York, NY
  • 1978 through 1991   Jay Johnson Gallery, New York, NY
  • 1989 The Gallery, Indianapolis, IN
  • 1986 through 1988   A.I.R. Holiday Invitational, New York, NY
  • 1986 through 1992   Brickhouse Gallery, Boothbay Harbor, ME
  • 1976 through 1985   Plantation Gallery, Monhegan, ME

Museum and Corporate Collections:

  • The American Museum, Bath, England
  • Mulvane Art Center, Topeka, KA
  • UNUM, Portland, ME

Publications:

  •  American Folk Art of the 20th Century, Jay Johnson & W.C. Ketchum
  • All-American Folk Arts and Crafts, W.C. Ketchum
  • Encyclopedia of American Folk Art
  • Monhegan, the Artists’ Island, Curtis & Lieberman

Memberships:

  • Monhegan Artists Association
  • Women Artists of Monhegan Island