Art, Jazz + the Blues—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.”