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Two Picasso paintings make public debut at the Currier
On view at a museum for the first time, new loans enhance storytelling about Picasso’s work and life
Media Inquiries
Ali Goldstein
Email: agoldstein@currier.org
Manchester, NH – July 17, 2026
Two paintings by Pablo Picasso make their debut at a public institution this month right here in New Hampshire. On loan from private collections, L'Homme au béret basque and The Two Children are now on view at the Currier Museum of Art through the end of October.
“Visitors and members have long felt a sense of pride about having a major painting by Pablo Picasso in their midst, here in New Hampshire,” says Jordana Pomeroy, Director and CEO of the Currier. “You don’t have to go to Boston for art. In the heart of Manchester, you can now make a personal connection with not just one Picasso painting, but three.”
With the Picasso gem from the Currier collection, Woman Seated in a Chair, the works on loan anchor a new exhibition exploring the intersections of Picasso’s personal life and artistic career, Personal Mythologies: Picasso in the 1940s and 50s.
“One work offers a moment with an artist, but three tell a story,” says Anastasia Kinigopoulo, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art. “In a world increasingly dominated by AI, this exhibition centers the human experiences behind the artist’s work, revealing an artist transformed by two decades of profound personal and artistic change.”
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Personal Mythologies: Picasso in the 1940s and 50s is on view through the end of October in the Modern West gallery at the Currier Museum of Art.
Currier Museum of Art visitors check out The Two Children and L'Homme au béret basque, two works by Pablo Picasso on view in a public institution for the very first time. Photo by Morgan Karanasios.
About the loans:
Pablo Picasso
L'Homme au béret basque
1946
Gouache and brush and ink on paper
Loan from a private collection
Picasso painted this work of a fisherman posed with his chin on his hand after moving to southern France at the end of World War Two.
Pictured below: Sometimes you have to pose with a work by Picasso. A museum visitor enjoys a moment with L'Homme au béret basque.
Pablo Picasso
The Two Children
1954
Oil on canvas
Loan from a private collection
With cool blues, greens, and grays, Picasso depicts his son and daughter, Claude and Paloma, coloring on the ground. His children became a frequent subject for the artist during this period.
Pictured below: There's nothing like seeing a work by Picasso you've never seen before. Two friends enjoy The Two Children.
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Full STEAM ahead for ArtLab
Pilot after-school program reached 58 students in first year
Media Inquiries
Ali Goldstein
Email: agoldstein@currier.org
Support for this program is provided by the Nashua Fund.
Manchester, NH – July 6, 2026
The Currier Museum of Art is expanding ArtLab, its hands-on after-school STEAM partnership with Nashua Public Schools, after a pilot year that reached 58 students at four schools and connected classroom learning with art on view at the museum.
Beginning in fall 2026, ArtLab will expand to seven Nashua elementary schools, including four Title I schools. Developed with Cultivating Curiosity and Uncharted Tutoring, the inquiry-based curriculum blends science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics through projects inspired by the Currier’s collection and exhibitions.
“ArtLab gives students a direct way to see how art can spark innovation, problem-solving, and confidence,” says Kate Pritchard, Director of Education at the Currier. “As New Hampshire schools navigate tight budgets, the Currier is extending the impact of the museum beyond our walls and helping more students experience creative learning.”
For students, ArtLab offers joyful exploration while building creative problem-solving, design thinking, and confidence. Art on view at the Currier provides the throughline: after seeing Joined Together: 30 Years of the New Hampshire Furniture Masters, students made furniture from recycled materials commonly found at home, transforming cardboard toilet paper rolls into imaginative tiny chairs. In a mash-up of geometry, composition, and color, students created paper quilts inspired by the artwork of Sanford Biggers and the quilting traditions of Gee's Bend.
ArtLab is part of the Currier’s broader commitment to expanding access to arts education across New Hampshire. This year, the museum made educational tours free for all New Hampshire schools, while a donor-funded Yellow Bus Fund provided critical transportation support. Together, these efforts helped the Currier welcome nearly 2,000 students from 83 school districts.
For many of these students, their school trip to the Currier was their first visit to an art museum.
“Educational outreach is central to the Currier’s mission,” says Jordana Pomeroy, Director and CEO. “Through ArtLab, free school tours, and transportation support, we are helping more young people see the museum as a place for discovery, creativity, and connection.”
Above: Students learn about furniture making during a field trip to the Currier. Photo by Morgan Karanasios.
ArtLab is made possible with support from the Nashua Fund.
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Nashua elementary students visit the Currier on an ArtLab field trip.
Five new trustees join Board
Joan Brodsky, Roger Buttles, Fareena Contractor, Amelia Larsen Curti, and Ronald Dupont bring expertise in the arts, business, real estate, and technology to their roles
Media Inquiries
Ali Goldstein
Email: agoldstein@currier.org
Manchester, NH – April 29, 2026
The Currier Museum of Art announces the appointment of five new trustees to its board: Joan Brodsky, Roger Buttles, Fareena Contractor, Amelia Larsen Curti, Ronald Dupont.
“These are the people you want on your team when you have a big vision – and the Currier definitely does,” says Tom Silvia, Board President. “I look forward to working together to be essential to New Hampshire, a source of pride for New England, and a model of innovative experiences.”
Complementing and enhancing the existing strengths of the Board, the trustees bring vast expertise across a range of sectors – from the arts to real estate to technology – as well as a proven track record of business acumen and community engagement.
“Our new trustees are exceptional leaders in their fields. Collectively, they share a love for the Currier and a deep pride in its mission,” says Jordana Pomeroy, Director and CEO. “As the Currier looks ahead to its Centennial, their wealth of experience, coupled with their passion for expanding cultural opportunities in New Hampshire, will help guide the museum into its exciting next chapter.”
Meet the new Trustees
Joan Brodsky has spent her career and life focused on the art of dance and the art of wellness. As a solo dance artist, she performed and taught regionally. That experience fueled an interest in therapeutic movement and health. Joan trained in Pilates, Biosomatics and Functional Health, opened The Studio in 2000, and created her non-profit New Hampshire Dance Collaborative. She believes that there’s a brotherhood of all the arts and that the landscape of her beloved state of New Hampshire can be transformed through a vibrant arts ecosystem.
Roger Buttles is an artist, curator, and art advisor who currently works in Concord, New Hampshire. In 2023 he founded Outer Space, an artist-run gallery that exhibits both emerging and established artists from around the country. Before that he spent the better part of two decades advising private collectors on their art collections, while also working in galleries in San Francisco, New York City and Chicago. He has exhibited his art in Boston, Chicago, Wisconsin, and Concord. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Harvard University and his Master of Fine Arts in Painting and Drawing from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Fareena is Vice President of Strategy & Commercialization at DEKA Research & Development, where she drives partnerships to scale breakthrough technologies. She advances innovations in healthcare, robotics, and advanced manufacturing, working at the forefront of applied R&D. Previously, she led Emerging Technology at a Fortune1 company and contributed to the development of the H1N1 vaccine early in her career. Fareena is also a leader in global STEM education as a key force behind FIRST Global, an international robotics initiative uniting youth from over 190 countries. She brings a unique blend of science, strategy, and global impact to the Currier Museum of Art’s Board of Trustees.
Amelia Larsen Curti is a New Hampshire native passionate about the arts and community. She double majored in Art & Visual Culture and Anthropology at Bates College and previously worked at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. With over a decade in residential real estate at Ruedig Realty, she now lives in Concord with her husband and two children.
Ronald Dupont is the President of Red Oak Apartment Homes, LLC., a leader in the New Hampshire apartment home rental business with approximately 1,700 apartment units in southern New Hampshire and coworking locations in downtown Manchester. In 2001, Ron was the founding President of the Apartment Association of New Hampshire, which brought world-class training opportunities for apartment property owners and managers in New Hampshire for the first time. Ron received a Bachelor of Science in Business from New Hampshire College (now Southern New Hampshire University), a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Technology from Northeastern University, and a Master of Business Administration from Rivier University.
New art and wellness program
brings health care workers
together around quilting
Launched in Spring 2026, Art of Care is a partnership of the Currier, Elliot Hospital, and Night Owl Quilting Studio
Media Inquiries
Ali Goldstein
Email: agoldstein@currier.org
Vital support for this program provided by the Art Bridges Foundation
Manchester, NH – April 9, 2026
The Currier Museum of Art announces a new art and wellness program supporting health care workers through an enduring craft tradition: quilting. Yes, quilting.
It’s called Art of Care. Launched in the spring of 2026, the program is a partnership of the Currier, Elliot Hospital, and Night Owl Quilting Studio bringing health care workers together for regular small-group workshops at the museum. The participants enjoy art, make art, and build supportive connections, piece by piece. Tactile, creative, and highly communal, the age-old benefits of quilting make the art form an especially relevant salve for the demands facing today’s health care workers.
“The Currier is uniquely positioned to lead conversations on art and well-being. By showing up in ways only a museum can, we are partnering with innovative organizations to tackle ongoing challenges like caregiver stress,” says Jordana Pomeroy, Director and CEO. “Quilting isn't a cure for burnout, but it offers a necessary reprieve. It creates a community where connection and creativity provide the respite our healthcare workers deserve.”
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Sanford Biggers, Slow Murder, Loan from the Art Bridges Foundation
Paula Webster, a lifelong nurse, cofounded Night Owl Quilting Studio with her mom. Growing up, Paula would sit with her mother for hours in her quilting room. "It was a fun place to escape," she says.
When Paula started to experience burnout working in nursing administration, she turned to quilting. “The stress of the world was so intense,” she says. “I needed something creative I could do in the evening to get away from it all.”
With Art of Care, she hopes to inspire health care workers like her to find a hobby that brings them relaxation, joy, and connection. “It’s important for people who take care of others to take care of themselves,” she says. “Quilting is a reprieve that also offers creative license and a built-in community of support.”
Art of Care is rooted in a powerful work on long-term loan to the Currier from the nonprofit Art Bridges Foundation: a sweeping quilt by contemporary artist Sanford Biggers titled Slow Murder. Covered with black cut-out silhouettes of crows, the quilt’s title refers to both the name for a group of crows – a “murder” – and to injustices suffered by African American communities.
The Currier was a proud recent recipient of a $10K grant from Art Bridges to support impactful programming around Slow Murder. This funding makes Art of Care possible, alongside other educational initiatives.
Art of Care continues through May 2026.
For more information on the Currier’s industry-leading art and wellness programs, visit: Currier.org/living-better-with-art
A new event blooms
at the Currier
2K+ visitors attended inaugural season of Bloom: A Floral Palette
Media Inquiries
Ali Goldstein
Email: agoldstein@currier.org
With additional support provided by Shaheen & Gordon, Patricia Wentworth and Mark Fagan, and RiverWoods Manchester
Manchester, NH – March 18, 2026
The Currier Museum of Art is excited to announce that more than 2,000 visitors attended the inaugural season of Bloom: A Floral Palette from March 12 through 15. This extraordinary four-day turnout exceeded the museum’s total attendance for the entire month of January 2026, signalling a vibrant re-emergence of the museum as a primary cultural destination for the region.
“After a long and bleak winter, the overwhelming response to Bloom proves that our community is hungry for experiences that bridge the gap between world-class art and natural beauty,” says Jordana Pomeroy, Director and CEO of the Currier. “We look forward to making this celebration a signature spring tradition for years to come.”
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This new four-day event featured a unique pairing of custom floral designs and museum masterpieces. The Currier partnered with the New Hampshire Federation of Garden Clubs, a thriving organization with passionate members throughout the Granite State and deep roots in the region.
Members of the New Hampshire Federation of Garden Clubs selected works at the Currier – from 19th century oil paintings to the Currier’s iconic mosaics – to inspire their unique arrangements, translating colors, shapes, and textures into flowers.
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The full photo gallery by Morgan Karanasios can be accessed here.
Hands-on Experiences
The 18 floral arrangements prompted new ways of engaging with art throughout the museum, enhanced by daily tours led by floral designers from the New Hampshire Federation of Garden Clubs and museum curators. Artmaking in the Currier’s newly renovated classroom studio spaces offered hands-on opportunities for all ages, from constructing paper flowers to experimenting with pen and ink watercolors.
Award Winners
Visitors, staff, and sponsors voted on their favorite floral designs as part of a friendly competition, with the winners announced at the Bloom Bash! emceed by Corinne Benfield, Executive Director of Stay Work Play NH.
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Pinnacle Petal Award (People’s Choice)
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Awarded to Joanne M. Dickie, Robin Heider, and Cookie Santerre for their creative arrangement for Severin Roesen’s Floral Still Life
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Peer to Petal Award (Chosen by National Garden Clubs, Inc.)
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Awarded to Peeps Bogaert and Fiona McKenna for their reflective arrangement inspired by Georgia O’Keefe’s Cross by the Sea
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Moody Currier Masterpiece Award (Chosen by Currier staff)
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Awarded to Carrie Dugan for her interpretation of Hyman Bloom’s Cadaver on Table
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Blooming Benefactor Award (Chosen by Bank of America, presenting sponsor)
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Awarded to Linda A. Pare for her leafy interpretation of Frishmuth’s Crest of the Wave
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Pictured above: Floral designer Casey Leach talks with museum visitors about being inspired by Childe Hassam’s The Goldfish Window. Credit: Morgan Karanasios
Manchester, NH – February 18, 2026
The Currier Museum of Art announces the endowment of its Senior Curator position by prominent philanthropists and collectors of seventeenth-century Dutch art, Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo—the first endowed position in the museum's history as it approaches its centenary in 2029.
The endowment—transformative in both its scope and long-term vision—will support the leadership, research, and programming essential to the museum's curatorial vision for generations to come, enabling deep engagement with the collection, groundbreaking exhibitions, and scholarly contributions that advance the field of art history.
"Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo have been extraordinary partners to the Currier for many years," said Jordana Pomeroy, Director and CEO of the Currier. "Their generosity extends far beyond financial support. They have shared their remarkable collection and their passion for making Dutch art accessible."
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Longtime Currier supporters, the Van Otterloos have lent dozens of works from their distinguished collection, including masterworks by Peter Paul Rubens, Jan Steen, and other Dutch Golden Age painters. These loans have enabled the museum to organize focused exhibitions illuminating aspects of Dutch art rarely explored in American museums.
For example, View of Olinda, Brazil with Ruins of the Jesuit Church, a 17th-century painting by Dutch Master Frans Post, is currently the centerpiece of a timely installation at the Currier called Seeing Empire and the Masking of Violence. The show places historic representations of colonialism alongside contemporary explorations of identity to ask questions about point of view, power, and beauty.
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"We have witnessed firsthand how exceptional curatorial vision can transform works of art into powerful stories that resonate with audiences," said Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo. "The Currier's curatorial team, and particularly Dr. Sundstrom, have consistently demonstrated the scholarship, creativity, and dedication necessary to illuminate art in ways that are both intellectually rigorous and deeply engaging."
Amidst an evolving funding landscape for the arts at both the state and federal levels, philanthropy at this scale makes a generational impact on the sustainability of New Hampshire’s cultural infrastructure.
"By endowing the Senior Curator position, the van Otterloos are investing in the intellectual leadership that drives everything we do, from exhibitions to education to scholarship," says Thomas Silvia, President of the Board of Trustees. "Their gift acknowledges the Currier as both a globally recognized institution and a vital community asset."
Transformative gift from Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo marks historic milestone for New Hampshire museum.
Media Inquiries
Ali Goldstein
Email: agoldstein@currier.org
Image Credit:
Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. With art object:
Portrait of Aeltje Uylenburgh
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn, 1632, Oil on panel
* Gift of Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo, in support of the Center for Netherlandish Art
and in honor of Matthew Teitelbaum
October 2017
* Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston