This coming Sunday will represent the fifty-first anniversary of the opening of the Kenan Gallery in Lockport, New York.

The gallery will forever have Buffalo State ties in that the first exhibit to be housed at the gallery were works by Charles Burchfield, otherwise known as one-half the namesake of Buffalo State’s Burchfield Penney Art Gallery.

To celebrate this occasion, the Kenan Gallery is holding an event to showcase paintings by three descendents of Charles Burchfield:  his two daughters, Catherine Burchfield Parker and Martha Burchfield Richter, and his grand-daughter Peggy Richter Haug.

This will also be the largest collection of works displays by Martha Burchfield Richter ever in a public setting.

The event, titled “Three Generations of Burchfields,” will take place a particularly meaningful time.  Not only will this event take place on the day of the gallery’s opening fifty-one years ago, but will also be held on William R. Kenan Jr.’s birthday, the founder of and architect behind the gallery.

The event will be curated by Guest Curator Gerald Mead and the works will come from art collector Louise Schoene.

“Charles Burchfield and his artistic descendants quite possibly could be referred to as Western New York’s ‘first family’ of artists,” said curator Mead, according to a press release put out by the Kenan Center, “this exhibition, which consists of works spanning nearly a century, provides a rare opportunity to see the work of Charles Burchfield in concert with his daughters Martha and Catherine and grand-daughter Peggy.”

This will also be the very first time that all four Burchfield painters are on display in the same gallery.

The event will open with a public reception April 30 from 2 pm- 5 pm.

On May 21, there will be a luncheon from 1 pm- 3 pm with curator Mead and collector Schoene so that people may gain more knowledge on the exhibit.  This will cost $25 per person and reservations are to be made via phone at 433-2617.

The exhibit will remain on display for the public until June 16, 2017.

For more information, you may visit the Kenan Center Gallery website at http://kenancenter.org/gallery/