Fri 5/8 @ 5:30-8PM
Painter Williams Sommer (1867-1949) worked as a lithographer to make a living, but by the turn of the 19th-century into the 20th, he was also one of the major modernist artists of the so-called “Cleveland School.” He was also a co-founder of Cleveland’s Kokoon Arts Club, which promoted modern art in Cleveland held legendary masked balls. In 1914, he moved to Summit County where his painting reflected a highly personal view of the rural landscape.
WOLFS Gallery in Beachwood is opening a retrospective of Sommer’s work this week, much of it coming from the 60-year collection of art historian/retired curator Martin Lerner, who became familiar with Sommer’s work while working at the Cleveland Museum of Art. That collection is augmented by works from private collections and public institutions. The show will be documented by an illustrated publication featuring essays by William H. Robinson, former curator of Modern European Art and head of the Department of European and American Painting and Sculpture at the Cleveland Museum of Art.
The show opens with a free, public reception on Friday May 8.