By John McNamara – NBPoliticus.com
The Art League of New Britain (ALNB) dedicated gallery space in honor of Artist and Educator Paul Baylock of New Britain on November 7th at a well-attended ribbon cutting and reception.
Baylock, a driving force in organizing ALNB programs and exhibits and an award-winning painter and sculptor, was recognized by board members, patrons, former students and family members at the event at the historic ALNB home on Cedar Street. Baylock taught for 38 years at New Britain Schools and has long been a civic leader serving on boards and commissions.
Fellow New Britain Artist and Sculptor Craig Frederick was among speakers lauding Baylock’s contributions to the ALNB and community at the Saturday reception. Both Frederick and Baylock grew up in New Britain and still live less than a mile from each other near CCSU. Frederick recalled being invited to speak to one of Baylock’s high school classes. “I have considered you a brother in art and art education ever since,” said Frederick. “Along with so many here I want you to know how inspiring you are to me…and may this aptly named gallery long serve as a reminder of all you have done and continue to do for this institution, the arts and the community.”
Baylock attended Saint Thomas Aquinas High School where Baylock recalls his art teacher, Sister Lucy Leonard, “saw something in me.” Those formative years led to a BFA and MFA in Art Education from Hartford Art School (University of Hartford) and studies at CCSU. He retired in 2011 from a teaching career at the middle and high school level.
The focus of many of Baylock’s paintings and works is New Britain’s industrial past. Galleries in Connecticut and New York have regularly exhibited those place-based paintings. The 2018 exhibit “NEW/NOW: PAUL BAYLOCK at the New Britain Museum of American Art (NBMAA) featured Baylock’s “Hardware City Series” covering his art from 2009 to 2018. Describing the exhibit the NBMAA said New Britain’s “factory town” legacy “is perhaps nowhere better expressed and celebrated than in the vibrant paintings and sculptures of artist Paul Baylock, a New Britain native. Throughout his career, Baylock has drawn his imagery from vintage publications and Popular Mechanics magazines from the period in which he grew up in the 1950s and ‘60s, as well as from New Britain iconography, factory architecture, and locally produced hardware that capture the spirit of the city.”
ALNB galleries are located in a converted 19th century carriage house and horse stables. The Baylock Gallery is located in the renovated horse stables where the names of horses are still above stall doors. The ALNB will be observing its 100th anniversary in 2028.
“Paul Baylock’s Greatest Hits” now fill the walls (and stables) of the Baylock Gallery through December 31. The Gallery is open Saturdays and Sundays from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Donations to the ALNB may be made at the organization’s giving page Donate to ALNB | Art League of New Britain
John McNamara is a Ward 4 Alderman and the Common Council Majority Leader.
