University of New Hampshire Arts
The Portsmouth Herald
Sunday, January 18, 1987
DURHAM — An exhibition of the work of Alice Ericson Cosgrove will open at the art galleries at the University of New Hampshire on Sunday, January 25 at 2 p.m. The exhibition runs through March 12.
Cosgrove, a portrait artist, worked for the state of New hampshire for 25 years as a draftswoman, Designer, art director and state artist. She died in 1971.
In addition, the University Art Galleries are showing, "Drawing Invitational," the works of six contemporary artists -— Susana Jacobson, Denzil Hurley, Sharon O'Brien, Grier Torrence, Andrew Young and Martin Mugar, who teaches art at the university.
According to Vicki Wright, university gallery director, the drawings range from figurative to abstract.
The opening reception for both exhibitions on January 25 will be from 2 to 4 p.m.
Cosgrove's longtime colleague, Mary Louise Hancock, currently a member of the board of trustees for the University System of New Hampshire, has spent the past two years collecting Cosgrove's work for the exhibition, "Alice Ericson Cosgrove: A New Hampshire Artist."
The exhibition was funded by the Office of President Gordon Haaland and a grant from the Jean Hennessey Fund, administered by the New Hampshire Charitable Trust Fund.
Cosgrove produced many promotional displays for the state and, according to Hancock, she "tended to use natural materials — real trees and grass, running streams and fountains, and even live creatures. For one of the displays involving a beaver pond, the Fish and Game Department provided her with a live beaver."
She designed a postage stamp with the Old Man of the Mountain, sculpted the Marine Memorial in Hampton, and designed "Chippa Granite," a character who, in the 1950's, was New Hampshire's "hallmark for tourism" and a promoter of agricultural products, according to Hancock.
"This exhibit pays tribute to Alice Ericson Cosgrove as a woman of great talent and dedication to her art," Hancock says, adding, "She established her worth and dignity as an artist and woman of remarkable character."
Gallery hours, in the Paul Creative Arts Center on campus, are Monday through Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m. The galleries are closed Fridays and University holidays.