I will never stop being surprised at where a Solowey artwork might turn up. Whether it is at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington where a Solowey was on view.

Or at our local movie theater, where in the film Object of My Affection starring Jennifer Aniston you might catch a glimpse of a striking Solowey theater drawing, appropriately enough on the apartment wall of the drama critic, played by Nigel Hawthorne. Biased as I am, I think Ben’s work looks good in both museums and movies.

I never thought that I would be surprised as to where I might find a Solowey artwork here in the studio. Up until recently I was convinced that we had opened every drawer, gone through every package, and found what Solowey work there was here to find.

My surprise has turned to outright amazement when 25 paintings and drawings were discovered in a hidden cabinet by a visitor to our Bucks County landmark in November 1997. Never in my wildest dreams did I think we would find works of this caliber secreted away in the studio walls. This treasure trove, along with canvases discovered in a shipping crate ten years earlier, formed the core of the Studio’s exhibition, HIDDEN TREASURES.

The works in HIDDEN TREASURES covered a wide range: from preliminary drawings and paintings of Solowey compositions, to finished pieces that were as fine as anything in the Solowey oeuvre. For Solowey scholars, the find was especially important since it included two previously unknown Solowey monotypes.

A monotype is a one-of-a-kind print pulled from a painting on a smooth surface, like glass, while the paint is still wet. The unique process often produces images that have a dreamlike quality. Only one Solowey monotype was known before this, Red Ribbon, an enchanting view of a semi-nude model seen from the back. A red ribbon winking at the viewer from a mass of dark hair.

A beautiful work that made historians wonder why Ben never did more monotypes. With the discovery of a second image of the same model and a delicate still life, we can now add this form of printmaking to Ben’s already considerable talents in etching, lithography and woodcuts.

Other "new" Soloweys included landscapes, still lifes, portraits and figures compositions in a variety of media. There were landscapes of the Solowey farm, as well as scenes from the White Mountains of New Hampshire where the Soloweys summered in 1931.

A watercolor interior showed the Ben’s studio in Bucks County as it was in its heyday. A drawing gave the viewer an intimate peek into the New York studio. There was even a very rare cityscape.

The figure works in HIDDEN TREASURES ranged from sublime nudes to studies of Rae sewing. There were also several portraits of Rae that are as exquisite as anything I had seen before.

Along with these newly discovered works was a selection of Solowey paintings, drawings, and sculpture from private collections across the country. As many wonderful pieces as we have here in the Studio, it is not surprising that there are just as great, if not greater works in private homes. For Solowey admirers who don’t know these collectors, this was an opportunity for them to view these hidden masterpieces.

In preparation for the exhibition, people have allowed me to walk all over their furniture as I have catalogued their Solowey collections. I not only wanted to see the fronts but the backs of paintings and drawings, which occasionally reveal a wealth of information through exhibition tags, alternate titles, prices and dates.

Over a six week period I have seen over one hundred Soloweys in private collections, culling some of my favorites for our this show. There were Solowey masterpieces along with unique works that could have only sprung from Ben’s hand; all lining the walls of the studio. I discovered that these works are often considered members of the family by the relatively small circle of people who are fortunate to live with them. I heard stories of when the works were purchased and reflections by those who grown up with this art. I know both Ben and Rae would be pleased that these wonderful works of art have found "good homes."

We had record attendance as we unveiled these "new" works and made the acquaintance of some of our "old" friends. There was never a show quite like this before.

David Leopold, Director

Top: Rae
Pastel on paper, 27 x 21, c. 1937
Collection of Francis and Eve Swiacki