Rehearsals have been a theme that re-occurs in Peter Milton’s work. The first example on this website shows up in the print Les Belles et La Bête I: The Rehearsal, 1977 (catalog #98). Rehearsals show up again in the painting The Rehearsal, 1984, (shown below), the print Dress Rehearsal, 2009 (catalog #131) and most recently in Sight Lines II: The Green Room (catalog #132).
The Rehearsal was painted while Milton was an artist-in-residence at Dartmouth in the early 1980’s. Subsequently loaned to the Currier Museum of Art, the museum later purchased the painting for their collection.
“Rehearsals are a favorite subject of mine and provide a continuity of theme throughout the work. I love the notion of elaborating on something just before it is actually supposed to happen. Or the Emily Dickinsonian theme and variations: the best is not in the fulfillment but the anticipation.” — Peter Milton
The Rehearsal, 1984 - oil on canvas
54.5 x 96.374 inches (138.43 cm x 244.79 cm
Currently in the collection of the Currier Museum of Art.
Additional information on The Rehearsal
click the image for a larger, zoomable version