Louise McCagg: The Artist’s Eye

Presenting modern and contemporary art from the collection of artist Louise McCagg (American, 1936–2020), this exhibition celebrates friendship and collaboration. The Artist’s Eye showcases McCagg’s own art in conversation with the work of notable artists such as Elaine de Kooning, Romare Bearden, Louise Bourgeois, Chuck Close, Philip Guston, Sol LeWitt, Yoko Ono, Alice Neel, and Cindy Sherman, among others.

A recent gift to the Lyman Allyn, the McCagg collection is eclectic and personal, reflecting Louise’s artistic interests and friendships and her family’s geographic reach. A Connecticut native, Louise McCagg cultivated artistic friendships in Connecticut, Michigan, Eastern Europe, and New York City, where she was a member of the women-run A.I.R. Gallery collective in Brooklyn.  

With over 40 dynamic sculptures, paintings, and works on paper by both celebrated and lesser-known artists, The Artist’s Eye explores remarkable artworks compiled by a feminist and politically active artist and collector.