Art, Jazz + the Blues is a collaboration between the Westport Public Art Collections (WestPAC) + MoCACT.

This exhibit, curated by Anne Boberski, Ive Covaci and the WestPAC Committee—explores the powerful intersections between visual art and music, drawing from the rich holdings of the Westport Public Art Collections (WestPAC).

The exhibition centers on Giants of the Blues, a sweeping series of seven group portraits by Westport native Eric von Schmidt (1931–2007) honoring blues, jazz, and folk musicians from the 1920s to the 1960s. Complementing von Schmidt’s paintings are approximately forty artworks from the WestPAC collection depicting musicians, inspired by musical themes, or exploring the resonances between musical and visual forms. A selection of important loans from galleries, museums, artists and private collections deepen the conversation, and a screening room features historic performance footage of musicians portrayed in von Schmidt’s paintings. As the jazz great Charlie Parker once said, the show invites visitors to “hear with your eyes and see with your ears.”

Westport has long been home to a thriving community of artists and musicians. Since the early 20th century, the town has attracted generations of illustrators, painters, performers, composers, and cultural innovators, and this exhibition highlights the interconnections between artists in our own community and their relationship to broader national and international movements. Today, music and the visual arts remain a vital part of Westport’s identity, nurtured through its many performing arts venues, public art collection, schools awarded for excellence in music and arts education, and creative networks. Art, Jazz + the Blues celebrates this legacy while looking forward to its vibrant future.

Eric von Schmidt’s deep connection to blues and folk music traces back to his youth in Westport, where he often painted alongside his father, esteemed illustrator Harold von Schmidt (1893–1982). He fell in love with the blues when he heard Leadbelly on the radio, and early exposure to the Smithsonian’s music archives ignited a lifelong passion. After graduating from Staples High School and studying at the Art Students League and in Italy on a Fulbright, von Schmidt moved to Cambridge, MA, where he became a central figure in the American folk revival. A prolific artist, performer, and mentor to musicians like Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, von Schmidt also designed album covers and authored prize-winning books on music. Dylan once described him as “a man who can sing the bird off the wire and the rubber off a tire.”