The New Center for Figurative Painting…
Inaugural exhibit, February 3rd, 2020
The Center for Figurative Painting a new “museum/gallery,” as described by artist Simon Dinnerstein, in the heart of Chelsea, New York’s lively art epicenter, opened its inaugural exhibit on February 3rd, 2020. But although the coronavirus pandemic curtailed that exhibit, its future is bright.
Reporting by David Stone
“The Center for Figurative Painting was formed to provide public exhibition and display of Post-War American Representational painting,” says the founders on their website.
“Post-War American Representational painting, often overshadowed by other Post-War American art movements, is an important art movement in its own right,” they add, “and deserves a museum dedicated to its display and further study.”
I hadn’t given that much thought until an email from Simon Dinnerstein landed in my inbox. An invitation for CFP’s first show, of American masterpieces, one of them his own Passage of the Moon.
Center for Figurative Painting FAQ
An all new, nonprofit museum/gallery devoted to post war figurative painting.
261 West 35th Street (Just east of 8th Avenue), Suite 1408, New York City
11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday (Appointment only/Contact info@cfpcollection.org)
Masterworks of American Figurative Painting runs until November 1st, 2021.
Entry to the Gallery/Museum is free.
CFP is steps from the A,C & E 34th Street Subway Station and one block the 7th Avenue/23rd Street 1,2 & 3 Station.
About Simon Dinnerstein
Simon Dinnerstein created The Fulbright Triptych, a modern masterpiece. Painted in the early 1970s, a “rarely seen realist masterpiece,” it toured the nation last year.
I met Dinnerstein by chance, a few years back. He stood beside a picture I love: Can the Universe Be Held in the Gaze of a Small Dog?
It was the Museum Mile Festival, a multi-block tour through centuries of art. Galleries along 5th Avenue open their doors for free.
Dinnerstein’s new work was on a wall at the National Academy Museum. He folded his arms beside it like a proud father.
In the years since, we stayed loosely in touch, and my wife and I visited his home when he had an open house. Some artists say little about their work, especially that in progress, but Dinnerstein is different. A teacher, he talked about his active work with anyone asking.
My experiences with and the genius of his work taught me that the Center for Figurative Painting was on the right track.
Conclusion
Click here for a list of the CFP’s artists. More importantly, go there, sample the first effort by this promising museum/gallery.
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The Line That Didn’t Land
I stood in the back of Good Shepherd Chapel on the evening of April 15, 2026, at the Steam Plant Demolition Town Hall, watching people adjust scarves and jackets before the meeting began. Benjamin Jones, President and CEO of RIOC, thanked us for attending and, without a pause, said he was “pleased to host tonight’s town hall on the city’s demolition of its steam plant.” The demolition, in other words, was not up for discussion.
