Frank LaLumia to Debut 1,000 Unseen Watercolors at A.R. Mitchell Museum

Frank LaLumia, a longtime Trinidad resident and internationally traveled plein‑air watercolorist, will present a retrospective titled "From Dawn to Dusk" at the A.R. Mitchell Museum featuring “1,000 watercolor paintings from his world-wide travels.” The opening reception of this retrospective show will be on First Friday, March 6, from 5 p.m.-8 p.m. at the A.R. Mitchell Museum, and the show will run through April; organizers say “These paintings have never been seen by the public.”

The artist will speak the evening before the museum opening at Trinidad State College. “Frank along with Paula Little will also be giving a talk at the Trinidad State College on March 5, the night before, in the TCRM room in the Boyd Bldg. 500 Park St., Trinidad, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.,” the event listing states, and many of the watercolors “will be included in Frank’s work-in-progress book, ‘From Dawn to Dusk.’”

LaLumia’s career credentials are summarized in event materials distributed with the exhibition notice: “Frank’s list of painting accomplishments is vast, and includes such highlighlights as being featured right next to John Singer Sargeant in ‘Watercolor Magazine,’ becoming a member of The American Watercolor Society, writing and photographing his own book, ‘Plein Air Painting in Watercolor and Oils,’ and being filmed painting in Trinidad for a PBS show, ‘Painting the American Landscape.’” The exhibition materials identify LaLumia as a world‑renowned artist who paints on location across multiple countries.

The exhibit will include both in‑gallery displays and an online presentation; show notices state that paintings will be available online at the A.R. Mitchell Museum website. The public notice lists only that the show “will run through April” without a final closing date and does not specify admission or ticketing for the reception and gallery viewing; the museum has not published a scheduled closing day or pricing in the posted announcement.

Event materials highlight the practical challenges behind the body of work: “Painting in exotic locations is very difficult to pull off in plein air, which is a fancy term for painting outdoors. The artist is faced with weather, insects, people massing around the easel and not being able to speak the language.” The March 5 talk at Trinidad State College and the March 6 reception at the A.R. Mitchell Museum mark the public debut of a collection described as unseen until now and signal a month‑long opportunity in Trinidad to view the scope of LaLumia’s travel sketching and studio watercolors.