Artist Included in American Women Artists National Exhibition, Lifting the Sky

Posted May 21, 2021

Renoir's Bouquet, A Portrait of Debra Calabrese, has been selected for Lifting the Sky: Elevating the Work of American Women Artists National Online Juried Show opening on May 20, 2021. Lifting the Sky is comprised of 155 works by AWA members from across the United States and Canada. The works include a variety of styles and genres from representational to abstract. Renoir's Bouquet was commissioned by Mr. and Mrs. Michael Calabrese. 
 

Governor’s Awards for the Arts in Ohio Announced

Posted January 25, 2019

The Ohio Arts Council and Ohio Citizens for the Arts Foundation have announced the 2019 Governor's Awards winners. Nine winners have been selected to receive awards at the Arts Day & Governor’s Awards for the Arts in Ohio luncheon and ceremony on Wednesday, May 15, 2019. Leslie Adams, of Toledo, will receive the Individual Artist Award. The Governor's Awards for the Arts in Ohio is a statewide program that showcases and celebrates Ohio artists, arts organizations, arts patrons, and business support of the arts. The event will take place at noon at the Columbus Athenaeum in downtown Columbus. 

Leslie Adams Awarded Commission from National Cathedral School in Washington

Posted January 10, 2019

The Governing Board of the prestigious National Cathedral School in Washington DC has awarded Leslie Adams the commission to paint the official portrait of Kathleen O’Neill Jamieson. Mrs. Jamieson is National Cathedral School’s 10th head of school and has held that post since 2003. She announced in January 2018 that the 2018/2019 school year would be her last. Mrs. Jamieson is also a trustee of the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation and a canon of the Washington National Cathedral. National Cathedral School is an independent Episcopal private day school for girls in grades 4-12 located on the grounds of the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. “National Cathedral School’s identity as an Episcopal school and historic affiliation with the Washington National Cathedral provide a remarkable opportunity to learn and grow in the embrace of a spiritual community that honors people of all faiths, nurtures each community member, and values service to others.” The portrait of Mrs. Jamieson will be unveiled at a Service of Thanksgiving at Washington National Cathedral in May.

Artist Included in The Art of the Ohio Statehouse on PBS’ Broad & High

Posted December 30, 2018

By some accounts, the Ohio Statehouse is considered to be one of the oldest museums in Ohio. Built in the 1860s, it boasts a large collection of statues, monuments and paintings meant to memorialize the significant people and events of this state. Learn about the Relic Room, meet contemporary portrait artist Leslie Adams of Toledo and more.

Portrait of James R. Woolliscroft, M.D. Dedicated at the University of Michigan

Posted September 18, 2018

A recent portrait of James R. Woolliscroft, M.D. was dedicated today at the University of Michigan. Dr. Woolliscroft, former Dean of the University of Michigan Medical School, collaborated with Adams on the design of the portrait which includes the setting of the new Taubman Health Sciences Library. The newest work joins four previous portraits created by the artist for the University, and becomes part of a collection that includes works by renowned artists John Koch and Everett Raymond Kinstler.

University closes The Handwritten Dreams Exhibition

Posted July 5, 2018

The University of Toledo’s Center for the Visual Arts has closed an exhibition by local artist Leslie Adams after air conditioning issues continue to plague the center. A conservation expert recommended that Handwritten Dreams be moved to a safer, climate-controlled environment, according to a news release sent from the university. The show transverses the importance of learning cursive handwriting through the writing of one’s own dreams; and part of the show was the postings from more than 50,000 visitors at previous installation who were invited to write their own dreams on pieces of paper and post them at the exhibition. Along with the closing of the show is the cancellation of Adams’ artist talk that had been scheduled for Friday.

Art Renewal Center Announces Finalists in International Salon Exhibition

Posted May 15, 2018

Handwritten Dreams and Self-Portrait at Eight, both from the Handwritten Dreams Project, by the Artist, Leslie Adams, have been selected as Finalists in the 13 Annual ARC International Salon Competition. This is the ninth year the Artist's work has been juried into this prestigious competition. In 2012, her work, Portrait of Michael Shane Neal, was awarded First Place in Drawing. This year the competition received over 3,750 entries from 69 countries. The finalists represent approximately 28% of entries. The Handwritten Dreams Project will open at the Center for the Visual Arts at the Toledo Museum of Art in June, 2018.

The Handwritten Dreams Project Opens at the Center for the Visual Arts at the Toledo Museum of Art

Posted May 15, 2018

Leslie Adams' solo exhibtion, The Handwritten Dreams Project, opens at the Center for the Visual Arts at the Toledo Museum of Art on June 1st, 2018 following a lecture by the Artist in the Museum's Little Theater. The Handwritten Dreams Project was created as part of ArtPrize Nine at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in 2016 and most recently, at the Portrait Society of America's International Art of the Portrait Conference. Of the work, the Artist states, "Drawing is my first love, but I’m infatuated with cursive - with signatures, poetry, and long letters from friends - anything written in one’s own hand. And, I love dreams. I love the dreamers of dreams. A self-portrait, Handwritten Dreams celebrates the hopes and aspirations that we, as children and adults, universally share. It is a drawing, installation, and interactive work that provides the space and time where viewers can pause, reflect, and write their own dreams on paper. Each then pins their hopes to an endlessly growing “wall of dreams” in the symbolically staged 1970’s classroom that I remember as a child. For as a young school girl I was taught to be curious, inspired to dream, and encouraged to record my dreams in perfect penmanship. It made them real. I am so fortunate that my dream of becoming an artist came true, and my goal as an artist is to inspire others to believe in possibility. Reflecting on the great cursive debate confronting today’s society, Handwritten Dreams seamlessly marries the elegance and beauty of line found in both cursive and drawing with the very marks that are the expressions of our individuality and pure imagination." The exhibtion runs through July 7th with a closing celebration coinciding with the Museum's Annual Block Party. 

Portrait of Dr. Arthur G. James Dedicated at Ohio State University Hospital

Posted May 4, 2018

A recent portrait of Arthur G. James, M.D. was dedicated today at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. The portrait was installed next to a portrait Adams previously created of Richard Solove in 2015. The two men were instrumental in the creation of the hospital. Dr. James never stopped dreaming. "My personal goal for this hospital is that it become the number one cancer hospital in the country," he once said. "This would mean we can achieve the best results in treatment because we have the most advanced methods."

Handwritten Dreams Presented at Portrait Society of America’s International Conference

Posted May 1, 2018

A portion of The Handwritten Dreams Project, which was created as part of ArtPrize Nine at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in 2016, was presented at the Portrait Society of America's International Art of the Portrait Conference in April. Following a lecture and presention by the Artist, a Portrait Society of America 2018 faculty member, conference attendees were invited to share their dreams. Of the work, the Artist states, "Drawing is my first love, but I’m infatuated with cursive - with signatures, poetry, and long letters from friends - anything written in one’s own hand. And, I love dreams. I love the dreamers of dreams. A self-portrait, Handwritten Dreams celebrates the hopes and aspirations that we, as children and adults, universally share. It is a drawing, installation, and interactive work that provides the space and time where viewers can pause, reflect, and write their own dreams on paper. Each then pins their hopes to an endlessly growing “wall of dreams” in the symbolically staged 1970’s classroom that I remember as a child. For as a young school girl I was taught to be curious, inspired to dream, and encouraged to record my dreams in perfect penmanship. It made them real. I am so fortunate that my dream of becoming an artist came true, and my goal as an artist is to inspire others to believe in possibility. Reflecting on the great cursive debate confronting today’s society, Handwritten Dreams seamlessly marries the elegance and beauty of line found in both cursive and drawing with the very marks that are the expressions of our individuality and pure imagination." The Handwritten Dreams Project will be exhibited at the Center for the Visual Arts at the Toledo Museum of Art this summer before traveling to other venues throughout the world.

Artist Honored to be Selected as 2018 Portrait Society of America Faculty

Posted April 15, 2018

Leslie Adams, a Signature Status Member of the Portrait Society of America and 2013 Draper Grand Prize winner, has been selected as a faculty member for the 2018 International Art of the Portrait Conference. Among a list of duties, the Artist will present her major work, The Handwritten Dreams Project, before it opens at the Center for the Visual Arts at the Toledo Museum of Art this June. This year, the Portrait Society of America, an international organization devoted to the promotion of portraiture and figurative art, is celebrating its twentieth anniversary with a gala celebration. 

The Art of Life Included in Ohio Arts Councils Riffe Gallery 2017 Biennial Juried Exhibition

Posted October 27, 2017

The Ohio Arts Councils Riffe Gallery 2017 Biennial Juried Exhibition opens in the OAC Riffe Gallery on Thursday, November 2nd, 2017 with a public reception from 5 pm to 7 pm.  The Art of Life, inspired by Charles Wilson Peale's The Artist in His Museum in the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, was created as the centerpiece of the artist’s solo exhibition, Leslie Adams: Drawn from Life, at the Toledo Museum of Art. This monumental drawing, not purely a self-portrait, but rather a visual autobiography, is more importantly, a personal thank you note to the people, places, and institutions that have shaped both her artistic career and her life. Symbolic representations of the Statehouse and the Supreme Court of Ohio are included in the work. The artist will deliver a lecture on her work Thursday, Novemer 9th at noon in the Riffe Gallery.

Women Painting Women Exhibit Comes to Texas A&M

Posted October 27, 2017

The J Wayne Stark Galleries at the Memorial Student Center at Texas A&M University welcomes “Women Painting Women: In Earnest”, an exhibition curated by co-founders Alia El-Bermani and Diane Feissel which honors the human spirit and shares the thoughtful and unique vision of 30 contemporary artists who explore the complexity of being a woman today. The Purity of Imagination and Color, a painting created for Leslie Adams, Drawn from Life, at the Toledo Museum of Art, is included in the exhibtion. The exhibition runs October 18 through December 16, 2017.

Women Painting Women Movement Touches Down in College Station

Posted October 27, 2017

The J Wayne Stark Galleries at the Memorial Student Center at Texas A&M University welcomes “Women Painting Women: In Earnest”, an exhibition curated by co-founders Alia El-Bermani and Diane Feissel which honors the human spirit and shares the thoughtful and unique vision of 30 contemporary artists who explore the complexity of being a woman today. The Purity of Imagination and Color, a painting created for Leslie Adams, Drawn from Life, at the Toledo Museum of Art, is included in the exhibtion. The exhibition runs October 18 through December 16, 2017.

American Masters Exhibition at the Salmagundi Club in NYC

Posted August 9, 2017

The Salmagundi Club, one of America’s oldest art organizations, will host their annual American Masters event from September 29 – October 27, 2017. The event will help celebrate the recent $1.5 million renovation and restoration of the Club’s Upper Gallery space in their landmarked 19th of Greenwich Village.  This fine art exhibition and sale will feature works by nationally recognized artists not often exhibited in New York City. Three works by Leslie Adams from her Handwritten Dreams Project will be included in the exhibition. This large invitational group show of fourty-eight artists was curated by the artist, Quang Ho, and Tim Newton, CEO of the Salmagundi Club. The exhibition is on view from October 13 - 27, 2017. The Gala and Sale will be held on Friday, October 13th. All three works are available for purchase.

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Girl Competes in ArtPrize Nine

Posted August 1, 2017

A drawing by Leslie Adams is competing in ArtPrize® Seven, the largest art competiiton in the world, between September 20 – October 8, 2017. ArtPrize is a radically open international art competition decided by public vote and expert jury that takes place each fall in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Over 1300 art entries from all over the world cover three square miles of downtown Grand Rapids — and it’s all free and open to the public. Leslie Adams is one of the artists competing for the highest prize in any art competition. Each year, ArtPrize awards $500,000 in prizes. Tens of thousands in additional grants—through programs like Artist Seed Grants and Pitch Night—are awarded to participating artists each year. Leslie’s award winning drawing, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Girl, created for her solo exhibition, Leslie Adams, Drawn from Life, at the Toledo Museum of Art, will be shown at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum during ArtPrize this year. Leslie has devoted her entire career to portraying the cultural, academic, medical, judicial, religious, and corporate and civic leaders of our day, so the Gerald R. Ford Museum is the perfect venue for her work! 

Women Painting Women: In Earnest Opens at the Customs House Museum

Posted August 1, 2017

The Purity of Imagination and Color, a painting by Leslie Adams, is included in Women Painting Women: In Earnest at the Customs House Museum in Clarksvile, Tennessee. "It is an exhibition that honors the human spirit and shares the thoughtful and unique vision of artists who explore the complexity of being a woman today. Each artist looks beyond the surface of her subject, beyond mere replication of the physical world before her, in search of deeper realities," states Alia El-Bermani and Diane Feissel, two of the co-founders of Women Painting Women, an online blog begun in 2009 and the curators of the exhibition. This exhibtion will be shown at the Customs House Museum from August 4  through October 1, 2017 before it travels to J. Wayne Stark Galleries at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas from October 18 through December 16th, 2017. 

The Purity of Imagination and Color Featured in Nashville Arts Magazine

Posted July 20, 2017

Seven Former House Speakers Get Official Portraits At The Statehouse

Posted May 23, 2017

The Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board and the Capitol Square Foundation unveiled the portraits of seven former speakers of the Ohio House of Representatives in a ceremony held in the Rotunda of the Ohio Statehouse.  The leaders, along with their families, friends and colleagues, were there for the unveiling of their portraits. Former Speaker Bill Batchelder, a Republican from Medina, Ohio, who served from 2011-2015, was very pleased with his portrait by Leslie Adams. “Oh, it’s beautiful. It’s just beautiful. As a matter of fact, I don’t look that good.” The event brought 50 years of legislative leadership together on Capitol Square and was standing room only. The program culminated with the unveiling of all seven portraits simultaneously. “The seven portraits broaden the scope and artistic diversity of the Ohio Statehouse’s art collection instantly. These works of art will inspire and educate future leaders of Ohio for generations to come,” said CSRAB Executive Director, Laura Battocletti. Leslie Adams' portrait of Speaker Batchehelder, her eighth portrait included in the permanent collection of the Ohio Statehosue, was unveiled along with portraits by Daniel E. Greene and Ned Bittinger.

Portrait Unveiled of Former Senate President Faber

Posted January 26, 2017

The portrait of Former Senate President Keith Faber was unveiled at a ceremony attended by hundreds in the Atrium at the Ohio Statehouse. Leslie Adams, who attended the ceremony, pubically thanked Presdeitn Faber as well as his family who helped put the finishing touches on the work. Additional attendees and speakers included House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger, current Senate President Larry Obhof, former Representative Jim Buchy, Department of Natural Resources Director Jim Zehringer, and family and friends of Faber. The oil painting, commissioned by the  Capital Square Review and Advisory Board, will hang in the Ohio Senate Building, adjacent to the Ohio Statehouse and is Adams' seventh portrait included in the Statehouse permanent collection. 

Portrait Dedication Ceremony for Senate President Keith Faber

Posted January 25, 2017

Following decades of tradition, the official portrait painting of outgoing Ohio Senate President Keith Faber by Leslie Adams was unveiled at a ceremony in the Ohio State House.

ArtPrize Artist Describes Meeting Donald Trump During His Grand Rapids Visit

Posted September 30, 2016

Handwritten Dreams on WZZM, Grand Rapids

Posted September 23, 2016

Handwritten Dreams Unveiled during ArtPrize Eight at the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum

Posted September 21, 2016

Portrait of Archbishop Leonard P. Blair unveiled at Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral

Posted April 11, 2016

Salmagundi Club, New York, New York; International 2014-2015 Salon Exhibition

Posted January 20, 2016

Purity of Imagination and Color included in European Museum of Modern Art Exhibition in Barcelona

Posted November 20, 2015

Gerald Ford Presidential Museum, Grand Rapids, Michigan; ArtPrize® Seven

Posted September 23, 2015

Drawing by Leslie Adams competing at ArtPrize® Seven

Posted September 22, 2015

A drawing by Leslie Adams is competing in ArtPrize® Seven, the largest art competiiton in the world, between September 23 – October 11, 2015. ArtPrize is a radically open international art competition decided by public vote and expert jury that takes place each fall in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Over 1300 art entries from all over the world cover three square miles of downtown Grand Rapids — and it’s all free and open to the public. Leslie Adams is one of the artists competing for the highest prize in any art competition. Each year, ArtPrize awards $500,000 in prizes. Tens of thousands in additional grants—through programs like Artist Seed Grants and Pitch Night—are awarded to participating artists each year. Leslie’s monumental drawing, The Art of Life, created for her solo exhibition, Leslie Adams, Drawn from Life, at the Toledo Museum of Art, will be shown at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum during ArtPrize this year. Leslie has devoted her entire career to portraying the cultural, academic, medical, judicial, religious, and corporate and civic leaders of our day, so the Gerald R. Ford Museum is the perfect venue for her work! 

Leslie Adams awarded Signature Status in the Portrait Society of America

Posted April 25, 2015

Leslie Adams has received the honorary designation of Signature Status member of the Portrait Society of America.  Signature Status recognizes those practicing and accomplished artists who are dedicated to the educational mission and high aesthetic standards of the Portrait Society of America. The artist's work must consistently demonstrate a high level of skill and sophistication of aesthetics.This honorary status grants the right to use the initials of the organization - Portrait Society Signature - on all personally created works as an indication of the harmonious high standards and goals, to create, to advance, and to share. There are only twelve recipients of this prestigious honor. Adams received the award at the Portrait Society of America's annual international Art of the Portrait conference in Atlanta. 

Art Renewal Center International 2014-2015 Salon Exhibition

Posted April 13, 2015

Unveiling of President Lloyd Jacobs

Posted April 8, 2015

Westminster Kennel Club

Posted February 13, 2015

The Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio; 78th Annual National Midyear Exhibition

Posted July 27, 2014

Richeson Gallery, Kimberly, Wisconsin; Richeson 75, Portrait and Figure Competition Exhibition

Posted June 3, 2014

YWCA 2014 Milestones Honoree

Posted March 1, 2014

YWCA Announces 2014 Milestones Honorees

Posted January 19, 2014

At a morning press conference, Lisa McDuffie, YWCA President and CEO, announced the 2014 Honorees for the YWCA Milestones: A Tribute to Women annual award. Leslie Adams was chosen to receive the prominent award in the category of Arts. This marks the 19th year that the YWCA of Northwest Ohio has recognized extraordinary women in the community who have demonstrated outstanding leadership qualities and contributed to the empowerment of women. “The members of the YWCA and I are honored to recognize these outstanding women with this prestigious award,” said McDuffie. “We invite the community to join us for this awards luncheon and help us pay tribute to this year’s Milestones Honorees.” The YWCA 19th Annual Milestones: A Tribute to Women Awards Luncheon will be held at the SeaGate Convention Center, Thursday, March 13, 2014 at 11:30 a.m.

Smithsonian Institution, National Portrait Gallery’s “Outwin Boochever Portrait Exhibition” To Close

Posted January 18, 2014

Explore the third installation of the “Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition” closing February 23rd! Forty-eight extraordinary figurative artist’s works, including Sensazione: A Self Portrait by Ohio artist Leslie Adams, were selected by a panel of jurors to be on display. More than 3,000 entries were received to be judged in the nation’s most prestigious portrait competition. Submissions included a variety of media ranging from traditional oil paintings and drawings, to contemporary works created from rice, glitter, thread and video. An 80-page publication illustrating each of the 48 finalists’ works is available in the museum store.  It includes an essay by Mary Sheriff; the W.R. Kenan, Jr. distinguished Professor of Art History at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Of Adams’ work in the exhibition, Sherriff writes, “…two artists take on the past quite directly. In Sensazione: A Self-Portrait, Leslie Adams positions herself between the past and the present, drawing on the longstanding convention of showing oneself at the easel surrounded by symbolic objects…Adams raises self-portraiture to allegory and manifesto, claiming a relation between art and science as intellectual, image-making activities that engage senses, brains, and hands.” In the Culture Spectator, K. Mitchell Snow discusses Sensazione as a “particularly compelling example of this union of technical virtuosity and contemporary reality. The artist’s profile is stunningly lit, illuminated by a medical light box behind her which holds image scans of a human brain.  Partially obscured in the shadows on the table before her is a self portrait of Leonardo da Vinci.  If he would have been mystified by the technology it represents, he certainly would have understood the message conveyed by the cross-sections of the human brain that illuminate the room.” Tour the exhibition, listen to interviews, and get inside information with the OBPC mobile app!  Available for iOS and Android.  Download the app at npg.si.edu/app. The exhibition will be on display through February 23, 2014. 

Painting Of The Ohio Statehouse By Leslie Adams Unveiled As Official Holiday Card

Posted December 12, 2013

The Holiday Festival, by Leslie Adams, of Toledo, has been chosen as the official image for the Ohio Statehouse holiday card and ornament. The oil painting was inspired by last year’s Holiday Festival and Tree Lighting ceremony held the evening of December 2, 2012. It depicts the Ohio Statehouse, beautifully lit and adorned with holiday wreathes and ribbons, with families entering the capital to celebrate the holiday. Cards and ornaments are available in the Ohio Statehouse Museum Store.

Portrait of President Donna M. Randall Presented to Albion College

Posted November 3, 2013

The Figure

Posted August 3, 2013

Leslie Adams Wins Draper Award in International Portrait Competition

Posted April 3, 2013

Toledo Museum of Art Extends “Leslie Adams: Drawn from Life Exhibition”

Posted January 3, 2013

Portrait of Ohio Senate President Unveiled at Ohio Statehouse

Posted December 16, 2012

Art Renewal Center Announces Winners in International Salon Exhibition

Posted December 3, 2012

“Leslie Adams: Drawn from Life” Opens at the Toledo Museum of Art

Posted October 19, 2012

Limited Edition Print by Leslie Adams Available at Museum Store

Posted October 18, 2012

Self-Portrait by Leslie Adams Receives top awards in Toledo Museum of Art Exhibition

Posted August 1, 2011

Solo Exhibition Opens at Flatlanders Art Gallery

Posted June 3, 2011