SCRAP BOOK at The Alice Austen House Museum

Evan Paul English: SCRAP BOOK at The Alice Austen House Museum

"The Alice Austen House is pleased to present SCRAP BOOK, an exhibition featuring new paintings and a permanent wallpaper installation by multidisciplinary artist Evan Paul English. Alice Austen was a passionate scrapbook enthusiast, a practice that showcased her significant artistic abilities and paved the way for her distinguished career in photography. During her lifetime, she filled many pages with ephemera featuring botanical imagery, symbolic flowers, and creatures from the natural world that reveal her keen aesthetic sense and her family’s passion for collecting all things beautiful. English, known for his expertise in reinterpreting and painting vintage floral patterns, worked alongside research staff to study these paper archives, transforming his findings into a contemporary body of work.

The exhibition includes nine meticulously crafted paintings that reinterpret the artistic mediums of Austen’s time through a modern lens. In addition to the gallery exhibition, English has also created a permanent wallpaper installation for the dining room of Alice Austen’s historic home. This installation, honoring the cherished history of her and her partner’s beloved home, reflects both the artistic and personal narratives tied to Austen and her legacy.

In the Parlor Room and Dining Room, visitors can explore vitrines that showcase archival material, including two of her original scrapbooks from Historic Richmond Town. Alongside these archival items, process pieces from Evan Paul English—such as his collages and studies—are displayed, offering a glimpse into the artistic process of this landmark exhibition.

Evan Paul English: Scrap Book is curated by Victoria Munro (Executive Director, Alice Austen House).

This exhibition was featured as a must-see in Hyperallergic’s Fall 2024 New York Art Guide. "

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