Francesca Anderson Fine Art, also known as Portraits North, is located at 56 Adams Street in Lexington, Massachusetts. The gallery, founded on Newbury Street in Boston in 1983, specializes in Contemporary Realism and Portraits. The gallery has approximately 6 - 7 exhibits a year. They represent 60 New England realists, artists who are living who paint realistically (landscapes, seascapes, still lifes, interiors, etc.) as well as 50 portrait artists from the Northeast, from Pennsylvania to Maine. Come see this important Boston-area gallery.

Francesca S. Anderson has channeled a lifelong love of fine art into a successful 20+year career as a gallery owner in the greater Boston area. Her combined educational and professional backgrounds span more than three decades of active participation in the arts.

Ms. Anderson grew up in Oyster Bay, NY, attended The Chapin School, NYC, and graduated from Miss Porter’s School, Farmington, CT. Ms. Anderson received a B.A. in Art History and Theory from George Washington University and an M.F.A. from the Corcoran School of Art in 1972. During her final year at GWU, she worked in the Conservation Lab of the Smithsonian Institute.

Ms. Anderson moved to Boston, where she worked from 1973 – 1976 as the Assistant Director at the Shore Gallery. Then located at 8 Newbury Street, the Shore Gallery showcased the best in abstract and realist art by living artists, and was recognized among the finest galleries in Boston. There she met a lot of her founding artists: Loring Coleman, Ruth Cobb, Beverly Hallam, Laurence Sisson, Don Stone and many more.

Then from 1976 – 78 Ms. Anderson was Assistant Gallery Director at the Copley Society of Boston. It was here that she and Lynn Loscutoff initiated the “Copley Master Program”, in an effort to upgrade artist membership, while they improved physical conditions of the gallery itself. Their collaboration was instrumental in bringing a number of revered artists into the society as “Copley Masters”.

The closing of two venerable Boston Galleries (Shore Gallery and Doll & Richards) set the stage for Ms. Anderson to found the Francesca Anderson Gallery at 132 Newbury Street in 1983. Over the past 20 years, the gallery has changed locations twice, moving to 8 Newbury Street in 1987 and to its current location, 56 Adams Street in Lexington, MA, in 1990, changing its name to Francesca Anderson Fine Art after the final move. The solid relationships that Ms. Anderson has built with clients and artists alike have kept her gallery thriving as it moves into its third decade.

Francesca Anderson Fine Art, Portraits North specializes in Contemporary Realism: paintings, drawing and portraits by living realist artists. The gallery represents over 50 realist painters, primarily from the Northeastern USA, who show their landscapes, still lifes, interior scenes and seascapes.

Because of the gallery’s large size, with exhibition spaces on 2 floors, the gallery can easily accommodate 20 – 40 artists’ work, allowing for popular theme shows which offer a chance to show a variety of styles on a theme. To date, previous shows have been "Birds of America", 1986, 1989 and 1996; "The Best of Watercolor, Realists, 1999"; "Best of Pastel, 2001"; "Celebrating the Still Life!, 2004"; "For the Love of Snow", 2001 and 2005; "22nd Annual Almost Miniatures Show, 2005"; "Art from 'The Children's Room', 2007"; "A Retrospective Tribute to George Shedd, AWS, AAA, 2007".

The gallery has also taken a second name, Portraits North, to reflect their solid base in portraiture since the early 1980’s. The gallery offers private (family) portraits and corporate portraits. Portfolios of over 75 artists, mostly from the Northeast, are at the gallery. Prices range from affordable graphite portraits starting at $ 500. - $ 800., on up to watercolor and pastel portraits of children ($ 3,000. - $ 6,000.) and oil portraits from $ 8,000. - $45,000., depending on size, complexity and experience of the artist. Every spring, the gallery is known for its ever-popular Annual Portrait Show, their "24th Annual Portrait Show" was April 27 – June 2, 2007.

Francesca Anderson Fine Art, Portraits North represents living realist and portrait artists, including the following artists:
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The gallery accepts artist submissions by mail only; no website submissions, no emailed images. Send 35mm color slides, transparencies or photos, biography and a sase for return of materials. Artists from the Northeastern USA are reviewed 4 times a year: fall, winter, spring and summer. Send by September 30, December 30, March 30 and June 30.

William Alther
Barbara Banthien
Steve Elrich
Dan Graffeo
Grant Hacking
Fernando Herrera
Cindy House
Ryan Jacque
Jay Johnson
Bruce Lawes
Shirley Taylor McKay
 

Terry Miller
Dirk Moerbeek
Martin Murk
Bill Rice
Ron Rundo
Richard Salvucci
Rachelle Siegrist
Wes Siegrist
Hank Tyler
Barry Van Dusen
Paula Waterman
Steve Wilda
 

This will be the gallery's 4th show on Birds. The first was in 1986 at our Boston location at 132 Newbury Street, then another in 1989 at our 8 Newbury Street gallery and our 3rd in 1996 at our current Lexington location. Bird lovers come see fantastic oils, watercolors, acrylic paintings of birds as well as some sculpture.

24th Annual Almost Miniatures Show
November 30, 2007 – January 13, 2008

Another very popular show, this includes artists who paint small paintings as well as miniature artists' work. Over 120 paintings are in this annual show with work from $ 75. - $ 2,500.

Red
February 14 – March 22, 2008

25th Annual Portrait Show
April 19 – May 24, 2008

The gallery represents 60 portrait artists from the Northeast.

Sample portraits and borrowed portraits of children, pets, private family portraits and corporate portraits will be on view. The paintings are not for sale, rather to help you decide who will paint your portrait.
Slide show of portraits to come!

Artist Demonstration
Saturday, May 4, 2008
12 pm - 2:30 pm

Portrait painter Jeff Martin will paint a portrait from start to finish.
$10 per person. RSVP for space reservation: francesca@portraitsnorth.com