Scott Prior

Scott Prior is a Contemporary Realist painter who lives and works Northampton, Massachusetts, where he has been a resident since 1971. His paintings depict a world that is intimate, simple and personal, where objects are transfixed and transfigured by light. Born in Exeter, New Hampshire, he received a BFA in printmaking from the University of Massachusetts in 1971. He has artwork in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the DeCordova Museum, the Danforth Museum, the Rose Art Museum and other major public and private collections. He has shown extensively in one-person and group shows in the United States and abroad; in 2001 he had a mid-career retrospective at the DeCordova Museum.

“It wasn’t until I saw a lot of Edward Hopper’s paintings in one place that I recognized the significance and emotional power of light. That was thirty years ago, and I am still fascinated by the varied and countless effects of light on the tangible world of my experience. In the same year as my discovery of light I changed from being an ironic observer into an emotional participant.” Scott Prior