"Adam Grant Centennial" Art Exhibit Set for 20 North Gallery
“Adam Grant Centennial” anniversary solo exhibit at 20 North Gallery
Retrospective to feature paintings by Holocaust survivor and late Toledoan
Toledo, OH—January 8, 2024. On Friday, January 19, 2024, 20 North Gallery will proudly open “Adam Grant Centennial,” a solo exhibit celebrating 100 years of museum-collected artist, Holocaust survivor and late Toledoan Adam Grant. The exhibition comprises works on paper from Grant’s Renewed Hope series created while the artist was in a refugee camp following World War II and large-scale canvasses from Grant’s Figure and Circus series, featuring paintings from the Grant family’s private collection—many available for purchase for the first time. In “Adam Grant Centennial,” 20 North Gallery presents a rare look at this world-class artist’s thoughtful themes and developing styles throughout his lifetime.
Born in Warsaw, Poland in 1924, Adam (Grochowski) Grant was a survivor of the Nazi concentration camps Auschwitz and Mauthausen, where he used his art to defy his captors—and to live. After the liberation, Grant became a naturalized citizen of the United States and moved to Toledo, Ohio where he lived and painted until his death in 1992. The “Adam Grant Centennial” exhibit will share with viewers a fascinating look into the life, artwork and international exhibition history of the artist.
A limited-edition exhibit catalogue, containing images of exhibited artwork, never-before-seen reference photographs and documentation of prevailing themes in Grant’s artwork, will be available for purchase at $20 each. Advanced orders may be placed by contacting 20 North Gallery at [email protected].
The exhibit will open with a free, Public Reception on Friday, January 19 from 7 – 9 p.m., featuring a light tapas buffet and cash bar by Venue. The exhibition will continue through March 23, 2024.
20 North Gallery art director Condessa Croninger states, “As the Adam Grant Art Estate representative, 20 North Gallery is proud to celebrate the historic legacy of globally-collected Toledo artist Adam Grant, marking the centennial of his birth in 2024. An artist and Holocaust documenter, Grant was a brilliant individual, a gifted painter and a very brave man, going on to pursue a lifelong career in the arts, through his fine art work and his “day job” as the principal designer for Paint By Number. While Adam created the universally recognizable design archetype that guided Paint by Number to immense popularity, both here and abroad, his ubiquitous influence on midcentury American aesthetic is often underestimated—this exhibit demonstrates his indelible impact on American figure painting.”
Adam Grant (b. 1924; Warsaw, Poland – d. 1992; Toledo, Ohio)
Born in Warsaw, Poland in 1924, Adam Grochowski was discouraged by his family from pursuing a professional art career. In his teens, Adam was sent to the Nazi concentration camps Auschwitz and Mauthausen, where he traded his art for bread, enabling him to survive.
After the liberation, Adam spent 5 years in a refugee camp. He emigrated to the United Sates in 1950, securing a job with the Palmer Paint Company in Detroit (Michigan), that had begun to produce the now-legendary Paint By Number kits. There, Adam met fellow designer and future wife, Margaret “Peggy” Brennan. Americanizing his name, the new Mr. and Mrs. Grant moved to Toledo (Ohio), where Peggy managed his fine art career and Adam painted until his death in 1992.
During his lifetime, Grant’s fine art was widely exhibited in galleries and museums, as well as juried and solo exhibits throughout the world, garnering prestigious awards. Later, his widow, the late Peggy Grant, as the executrix of his artistic estate, organized and facilitated exhibits of his work in Ohio, Indiana, Poland and Saudi Arabia. Grant’s work is part of numerous permanent, public collections throughout the world, including the Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. 20 North Gallery is honored to have been selected by Mrs. Grant to serve as the estate representatives for Adam Grant’s artistic legacy.
In addition to the featured exhibits, 20 North Gallery continues to display glass, ceramics, paintings and jewelry by noted artists of the region. Gallery hours are Wednesdays through Saturdays from noon to 4p.m.
An abbreviated, online exhibition catalogue for “Adam Grant Centennial,” containing images of all the exhibited canvases, will be posted at the 20 North Gallery website at 20northgallery.com
What: “Adam Grant Centennial” art exhibition
Where: 20 North Gallery, 18 N. St. Clair Street, (Downtown) Toledo, Ohio 43604, 419-241-2400
When: January 19 – March 23, 2024
Gallery Hours
Wednesday – Saturday:
Noon – 4 p.m.
and By Appointment
Free public opening reception: Friday, January 19, 7 – 9 p.m.
For More Information Contact: Condessa Croninger (Art Director) or visit www.20northgallery.com