Lehman Art Center
Thank you for your interest in the gallery at Brooks School. Attached to the Henry Luce III Library, the Robert Lehman Art Center opened in 1995.
The 2,300-square-foot gallery hosts a number of exhibits annually.
Financial support for the art center came from the Robert Lehman Foundation, with special encouragement from Robin Lehman ’55, a well-known artist and filmmaker.
Feel free to reach out to Babs Wheelden, Director of the Robert Lehman Art Gallery, directly at bwheelden@brooksschool.org with any questions.
Gallery Hours
Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
(Closed during school vacations)
Due to unforeseen circumstances, Darryl Westly’s "Paradise" exhibition is cancelled — along with the artist reception.
Please join us when we honor and celebrate our own advanced student artists with a reception on May 2 from 6 to 8 p.m.
Thank you for your interest and support of the arts!
2024 - 2025 Exhibitions
- Christopher Isles '77 "Passion for Pottery" exhibition of ceramics
September 1 to October 1
Artist reception on September 13 from 6 to 8 p.m. SEE PHOTOS
- Arts in Progress, Student Exhibition
October 4 to November 23
Artists reception on October 5 at 1 p.m. SEE PHOTOS
- Winter Term Visiting artist Hannah Latham '17 "Bring Me a Dream" photography exhibition
December 3 to January 25 — Update: The exhibit has been extended until March 6!
Artist reception on January 10 from 6 to 8 p.m. SEE PHOTOS - Darryl Westly "Paradise" exhibition of paintings
Update: Artist reception on April 4 and exhibit is cancelled.
- Manuel Alvarez Bravo and Walker Evans "In Focus" photography exhibit
A Lehman Permanent Collection rearranged to be revisited.
April 7 to May 1 SEE PHOTOS
- Advanced Studio Artists' "Passion, Process and Progress" exhibition
May 2 to June 9
Artist reception May 2 from 6 to 8 p.m.
Step back into a powerful moment in history captured through the eyes of two legendary photographers. "In Focus" reunites parts of the original 1935 exhibition by Walker Evans and Manuel Álvarez Bravo: artists who captured the stark realities of everyday life during the Great Depression. Their images, once radical in their honesty, now feel eerily familiar — echoes of hardship, inequality and resilience that still resonate today.
These hauntingly beautiful photographs offer more than just a glimpse into the past. They invite us to reflect on the present. In their quiet clarity, we may find both a warning and a way forward, reminding us of the importance of seeing, understanding and choosing a different future.
This photographic exploration navigates the profound impact of Alzheimer's disease on Hannah Latham's family, addressing questions about memory loss and its repercussions on identity, heritage and the human experience.
This collaborative exhibit showcased work in progress from more than 150 students exploring the themes of integrity and passion. These virtues, often emphasized in life, are challenging to uphold yet essential. Integrity reflects ethical actions, even when unnoticed, while passion drives our purpose and productivity. Together, they form the foundation of personal growth, shaping who we are and how we SHINE. The students' work reflected the pursuit of these values, as they examine their role in creativity, connection and realization.
SILENCIOS
Oct. 18 - Nov. 24, 2023
The Robert Lehman Art Center is honored to partner with our World Languages department and artist Juan Manuel Echavarría '66 in sharing a powerful photographic exhibition this fall. For more information on the artist and this impactful collection visit jmechavarria.com.
Artist statement:
On March 11, 2010, I was invited to the old town of Mampuján, in the district of Los Montes de María, Bolívar, Colombia. The community commemorated the 10th anniversary of their displacement by the paramilitary group “Heroes de los Montes de María” (Heroes of Los Montes de María). In the abandoned Rural School of Mampuján, which had no roof and a floor covered with vegetation, I found a blackboard in one of the classrooms, and on the wall next to it, vowels were drawn. The calligraphy and colors of the letters caught my attention. They seemed to be fleeing from the blackboard: the a, e, i, o, u were legible despite the damp and the abandonment…the “o” was vanishing. In a second classroom, I saw a blackboard hidden in the thick vegetation, faded and in very bad condition. I hesitated to photograph it.
A few days later, while inspecting the image, I discovered that in that silent blackboard an almost invisible sentence appeared: “Lo bonito es estar vivo” (The beautiful thing is to be alive). Those blackboards, in the old town of Mampuján, encouraged me to seek other schools in Los Montes de María, other memories that could be found before fading forever, like that “o” in the school of Mampuján. For over seven years, I, with Fernando Grisalez, have found more than 100 schools that have been abandoned because of Colombia’s ongoing war. We have photographed more than 200 blackboards. The Silencios series also includes the school of Bella Vista in Bojayá, and other schools in Chocó and Caquetá.
The project continues…
2023 - 2024 Exhibitions
- Silencios, exhibit of photography by Juan Manuel Echavarría '66
Oct. 18 - Nov. 24 SEE PHOTOS
- La nostalgie: ici et la-bas (Nostalgia: here and there) Americana and Orquevaux, France by Art Teacher Sonja Nagel
Nov. 27 - Jan. 1 SEE PHOTOS
- Struggle by Winter Term visiting artist Robert Freeman
Jan. 5 - Feb. 17
Artist reception on Jan. 5 from 6 to 8 p.m. SEE PHOTOS, LEARN MORE!
- Women's Work, artists from Salon Design: Elisa Strozyk, Christina Watka, Brit Kleinman, Jessica Switzer Green and Manon Steayart
Feb. 23 - April 27
Artists reception on March 1 from 6 to 8 p.m. SEE PHOTOS
- "A Life's Work of Reimagining" by James Rivington "Riv" Pyne '64
May 1 - June 15
Artist celebration on May 10 from 3 to 4:30 p.m. SEE PHOTOS
Explore William "Bill" Ferris Works Online
2022-2023 Exhibitions
- "Swimming Holes and Summer Fields: A Love Story," exhibit of paintings by Julia Powell
Sept. 1 - Oct. 2, with an artists reception Sept. 16 at 6 p.m. SEE PHOTOS
- "Arts In Progress: Choices, Regrets, Relationships and Forgiveness," an exhibition of student works from fall 2022
Oct. 7 - Nov. 18
- "Watercolors of New England," paintings by Racket Shreve '63
Nov. 25 - Jan. 1 SEE PHOTOS
- "Transitus," a mixed-media painting exhibition of, and with, works by "Italian Art and Culture" Winter Term visiting artist Nella Lush P‘95
Jan. 4 - Jan. 30, with an artists reception Jan. 7 at 6 p.m. SEE PHOTOS OF THE EXHIBIT AND OF THE WINTER TERM CLASS
- William “Bill” Ferris ‘60 VOICES OF MISSISSIPPI: ARTISTS AND MUSICIANS, Give My Poor Heart Ease and The South in Color, a photography exhibition from the Lehman Art Center permanent collection to honor Black History Month.
William Ferris is the Joel R. Williamson Eminent Professor of History Emeritus, University of North Carolina, including Images from: I Am A Man: Civil Rights Photographs in the American South, 1960–1970
Feb. 3 - April 23
- "HOPE: Faculty and friends of the Robert Lehman Art Center Gallery" an exhibition of works by faculty, staff, parents/family members, alumni responding to the theme of hope*.
March 30 - May 1 *Please note: The location of the HOPE exhibit has been changed to the Bowers Room in the Center for the Arts.
- Advanced Students’ Sustained Investigations and Creative Collective
April 29- June 2. AP and Advanced Open Studio artists reception May 5 from 6 to 8 p.m.
Creative Collaborative and Artistic Inquiries
Twenty-five Advanced Placement and Advanced Open Studio Art students are exhibiting their works in this new exhibit on display in the Lehman Art Center gallery April 29 through June 3.
All are welcome to the artists' reception in the gallery on April 29 from 6 to 8 p.m.
Four Perspectives, For Perspective, For Us
A collaborative show of works from four members of the Brooks School Arts Faculty: Lynn McLoughlin, ceramic works, Max Nagel, photography, Sonja Nagel, watercolor paintings, Babs Wheelden mixed media, together in the Lehman Gallery from March 25 through April 25.
Each of the teaching artists will feature a collection of recent work, sharing their unique perspectives in an effort to reconnect, reunite and share collectively the power of making and observing art.
“Volaverunt,” which translates to something that is missing, has left or just flown away, is the name of Peruvian artist Paola Denegri's exhibit of Japanese paper art, created during a COVID-related lockdown in Lima.
The exhibit was on display in the gallery February 18 - March 5, 2022.
"Canceled Edition: Ivory-Billed Woodpecker," featuring a simulated species extinction by 2022 Winter Term visiting artist Pippin Frisbie-Calder, was in the gallery from January 3 through February 14. READ ABOUT HER VISIT.
Students in the "Environmental Artivism" Winter Term course made their own endangered species print for the gallery for Brooks School's Winter Term Symposium on January 21. Click to see photos of the Winter Term class working with Frisbie-Calder.
2020-2021 Exhibits
- "Surviving a Pandemic with Creativity," featuring glass works and cartoons from the collection of Robin Lehman '55. November 29 - January 2 SEE PHOTOS
- Arts in Progress: Identity, Truth and Wonder
October 20 - November 20 SEE PHOTOS
- Show of Hands: Henry M. Buhl '48 Collection
September 3 - October 15 READ MORE & SEE PHOTOS
- Advanced Artists and Creatives Exhibition
May 20 - June 6: with "An Evening of the Arts" on May 28, featuring live music ensembles from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
- Student Arts Exhibition 2020-2021
May 5 - 19. SEE PHOTOS
- Academic Building "Planning for Future Learning Spaces"
April 19 - 23: A display of architectural drawings of the renovation and expansion of Brooks Academic Building and Library
Featuring the work of Brooks School faculty, staff and friends, the "Brooks Faculty Show" was on display March 1 - 18, 2020
with an artist's reception on March 7 from 6-8 p.m.
2019-2020 Exhibits
- MeadEaglePhotos, "Environments, Cultures and Wildlife at Risk," in September: READ MORE.
- Student Art Show, mixed media work from our Center for the Arts, in October.
- 200 Women: Who Will Change the Way You See the World exhibition, in November: READ MORE
- Laura Nichols GP'18, GP'20, GP'22, ceramicist and Winter Term visiting artist, in January: SEE PHOTOS
- Jim Sperber '87, painting, in February: READ MORE.
- Brooks Faculty Show, in March.
