KENT—The Kent Art Association is presenting an exhibit, “Retrospectives Invitational Show,” which includes Illustrations by the late Kermit Adler.
An opening reception will be held Friday, Nov. 8, from 6 to 8 p.m. The show will run through Nov. 30.
“The Art of Fashion,” a special part of the exhibit, features 1990s original Adler illustrations created for Sherman resident Jeanne McRoberts, who owned the former Barn Shop in Kent.
Adler, who was born in 1927 and died in 2008, was a former Lord & Taylor creative director.
McRoberts’ new book “The Art of Fashion in the 1990’s” is a retrospective about the Barn Shop and includes Adler’s illustrations. The book will be available to purchase at the show, with a portion of the proceeds to to benefit KAA.
McRoberts moved to Sherman in 1953 and began to work for the Barn Shop in 1967. The business originated in Cornwall, offering quality men’s and women’s wear.
McRoberts purchased it in 1973 and moved the shop to downtown Kent in 1988. Adler did the illustrations for her ads until 2002 when she closed the shop.
Born in New York City, Adler graduated from the High School of Music and Arts and the Parsons School of Design Mexico’s Escuela de Bellas Artes. He began his career at Lord & Taylor as an art director and illustrator in the advertising department in the early 1950s.
He later became co-creative director, a position he shared with his wife, Pat.
In 1962, he left Lord & Taylor to become an art director at Saks Fifth Avenue, but a year later he left Saks to become an art consultant. After 10 years, he returned to Lord & Taylor as an art director and vice president.
Adler was also a watercolor painter, exhibiting in one-man and group shows. During his career he designed Christmas cards as well as covers for New York Cue magazine. He retired from Lord & Taylor in 1987.
The Kent Art Association, located at 21 South Main St., is open Thursdays through Saturdays from 1 to 5 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m.
For more information, call 860-927-3989.
