On exhibit at Hampden-Sydney's Atkinson Museum from October 7 through November 13 are paintings from the collection of Virginia artist Beverly Rhoads, “Following Seas: From Pretty Marsh to Great Head.” Rhoads is Associate Professor of Art at Lynchburg College.

Complementing and extending Ken Burns' spectacular documentary, The National Parks: America's Best Idea, the back gallery will show the exhibition of en plein air (outdoor) paintings of Acadia National Park made by Rhoads in 2002. Established in 1919, Acadia National Park was our nation's first national park east of the Mississippi. Today Acadia is one of America's premier natural areas, in part because generations of artists have promoted its unparalleled beauty through their paintings, prints, photographs, and travelogues. Inarguably, artists are responsible for promoting tourism to the remote 47,000 acres that constitute Acadia.

The exhibit opens on Thursday, October 7, with a gallery talk and reception on October 28 at 3:30 p.m. at Atkinson Museum. The museum is open Tuesday through Friday, 12:30 to 5 p.m. For Saturdays and other times, call 434-223-6134 (www.hsc.edu/museum).