Everett Raymond Kinstler, who turns ninety-two August 5, has painted more than two thousand portraits of leaders in almost every professional field, including eight United States presidents. America Creative explores how the eye of the artist sees kindred souls whose life’s work is also in the arts, whether visual, musical, performing, or literary. Kinstler’s vibrant, impressionist style imbues an otherwise static medium with the energy and vitality of his sitters, enlivening their personalities for us and telling the stories of their lives. Spanning the years from 1952 through 2015, these portraits cover the long career of a hugely successful artist. Thanks to loans from the artist and from several museums, the exhibition features portraits of Norman Rockwell and Alexander Calder, Katharine Hepburn and Christopher Plummer, Tony Bennett and Marian Anderson, and Tom Wolfe and Dr. Seuss.

America Creative: Portraits by Everett Raymond Kinstler was organized by the Vanderbilt University Fine Arts Gallery and curated by Joseph S. Mella, director, and Margaret F. M. Walker, assistant curator, with special thanks to the artist, Peggy Kinstler, and Michael Shane Neal.