The Alma Gilbert WEB site

 

"Garden of Allah" was done in 1918 for the Crane's Candy Company. It was used to decorate the company's candy boxes, and later, under the publishing company House of Art in New York City,  became one of the most famous of all Parrish reproductions. This original oil on board painting, housed in a magnificent hand-carved pedestal frame, was sold by Alma Gilbert in 1974

Alma Gilbert-Smith is considered this country’s premiere authority and consultant on the works of American artist Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966)  as well as for other American artists of the nineteenth and twentieth century which populated the famous Cornish Art Colony in the Connecticut River Valley towns of Cornish and Plainfield, New Hampshire.

Alma Gilbert-Smith’s art career extends across the country.  She has worked from coast to coast setting up Parrish exhibits over a period of 40 years as a dealer, writer, broker and consultant.  She has founded two museums which have exhibited most of Parrish’s major works.  Her archives on that artist are extensive and informative.  She has set up exhibits of his works in several museums around the country and has also assisted with exhibits of his work overseas.

A commemorative room honoring her legacy is to be dedicated at the Concord, NH State Library in the Summer of 2012. Mrs. Gilbert-Smith founded and maintained for many years a museum displaying the works of Maxfield Parrish as well as the works of other prominent artists of the prestigious Cornish (NH) Art Colony.

MAJOR CLIENTS:
Among her major clients are: the City of Philadelphia, most of the large auction houses of the country, museums and important clients in the fields of finance, politics, investment and entertainment.

FOUNDED:
    Maxfield Parrish Museum
        The Oaks, Plainfield, NH
    Cornish Colony Museum
        Cornish, NH and Windsor, VT
    Parrish House Museum Foundation
        Plainfield, NH


BOOKS AUTHORED BY ALMA GILBERT:
   The Make Believe World of Sue Lewin and Maxfield Parrish
   Maxfield Parrish:  The Mechanic Who Loved to Paint
   The Maxfield Parrish Poster Book
   A Treasury of Art and Children’s Literature
   Maxfield Parrish:  The Landscapes
   A Place of Beauty: The Artists and Gardens of the Cornish Colony   
   Maxfield Parrish:  The Masterworks, Volume One
   Maxfield Parrish:  The Masterworks, Volume Two
   Maxfield Parrish:  The Masterworks:  Volume Three
   Maxfield Parrish:  Master of Make-Believe
  
  SERVICES:
    Consulting and authentication services
    Collection valuations and individual appraisals of artworks
    Private sales of original paintings
    Assisting museums and major galleries in procuring and setting up exhibits featuring Maxfield Parrish together with other major artists of the Cornish (NH) Art Colony
    Education:
       Power point presentation:  Maxfield Parrish
       Power point presentation:  Artists of the Cornish Colony
       Power point presentation:  The Women artists of the  Cornish Colony

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
   Marquis Who’s Who in America
   Personalities of the West and Mid West
   U. S. Congressional Advisory Board for Commerce and the Arts
   Commemorative room at the Concord, NH State Library, opening Summer 2012

FAVORITE QUOTATIONS ABOUT HERSELF:
“Alma Gilbert is tougher than any old New England boiled owl”.
         --Stan Colby, Plainfield Museum Board member
“She has done for Parrish’s name and fame what any loving daughter would have done for a beloved parent.”
         --Unknown Parrish fan from Utah in a recent blog

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CREDITS:

The web site header above is an adaptation of the Maxfield Parrish comical painting called "A Funnigraph" done in 1908.

The original painting depicted a motorized freight wagon carrying a crate on its way to the shippers and addressed to the Colliers Publishing Company. It was published as a cover for the July 4, 1908 issue of "Colliers".

Beginning in 1978, Alma Gilbert has maintained a museum in New Hampshire dedicated to displaying the works of Maxfield Parrish as well as those of other important Cornish Colony artists. She now considers herself retired and lives in Southern California, enjoying lovely coastal vistas. She actively continues writing, authenticating and consulting in all aspects of the career and paintings of Maxfield Parrish. She also handles private sales of major Parrish originals for her clients.
 

Her contact information remains the e-mail address: agilbert@almagilbert.com

The main viewing gallery as it looked during 2009-2010 at The Oaks

The Oaks, the historic former home of Maxfield Parrish Also the former site of the Parrish House Museum The museum is no longer in operation, due to neighborhood opposition Contact e-mail: agilbert@almagilbert.com