Derby View, 1939 (Mettawee Valley)

William Dean Fausett often went by Dean. He was a member of the group known informally as the Dorset Painters and later, more formally, as the Southern Vermont Artists. He was a key figure in the acquisition of the Webster estate (Yester House) in 1950, which evolved into the Southern Vermont Arts Center.

Fausett was one of the many artists who divided his time between Vermont and New York. Several important museums across the country have his works in their collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Whitney Museum of American Art; Smithsonian American Art Museum; Addison Gallery of American Art in Massachusetts; Dorset Historical Society; Bennington Museum; and Southern Vermont Arts Center.

Lyman Orton acquired this painting at auction when it was deaccessioned by New York’s Museum of Modern Art. MOMA bought the painting in 1939 or ‘40 after Fausett exhibited it there. During the Eisenhower administration, it hung at the White House. The view is of the Mettawee Valley, seen from a high point on Derby Road in Rupert.