Western New York has a rich history of the visual arts. Behind the artworks that are found in museums, private homes, and corporate collections both locally and throughout the country are many stories that reflect this history.

This column will bring an ongoing focus to those paintings and the artists who left behind notable works from the 20th century.

As the Burchfield-Penney Art Center readies itself for the opening of its new $33 million museum, greater attention will now be turned toward the art of this region.

The Burchfield-Penney Art Center is located on the Buffalo State College Campus. Its mission is to focus on those artists who worked and are working in Western New York.

The Birthday Party, Virginia Cuthbert (1908-2001), oil on canvas, 1956-1957. The Charles Rand Penney Collection of Western New York Art at the Burchfield-Penney Art Center, Buffalo State College.

Virginia Cuthbert’s The Birthday Party (1956-57), in the collection of the Burchfield-Penney, is a painting that captures an emblematic moment on canvas. An accomplished artist, Cuthbert (1908-2001) moved to Buffalo in the early 1940s. She remains one of the area’s most well-regarded and valued artists.

The Rehn Galleries in New York City represented Cuthbert, which also counted among its roster Edward Hopper and Charles Burchfield. Cuthbert’s works can be found in many nationally important collections, including the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, the Westmoreland Museum of American Art, and the Butler Institute of American Art.

Cuthbert was an active and important part of the Buffalo artistic community. She formed strong bonds with some of the most respected and vital artists of the area. Her reputation for enjoying the amity of fellow artists and her renowned drinking abilities are still fondly recollected.

Pictured in the painting enjoying a party at the painter’s Bryant Street home are Cuthbert and fellow artists Charles Burchfield, Seymour Drumlevitch, Harriet Greif, Virginia Tillou, and Martha Visser’t Hooft. Her husband, artist Philip Elliott, is holding the drink tray. Charmingly, their dog, Jongo, strikes a pose and their cat is peeking around the doorjamb.

The Birthday Party memorializes much of this good spirit, setting it specifically in both the artist’s time and her social milieu.