John Singleton Copley American, 1738-1815 Mrs. McEvers (Mary Verplanck),1771 Director's Fund Purchase in honor of the extraordinary service of Ronald M. Ansin, Museum Trustee 1971-2003, voted by his fellow trustees December 2003   European & American Paintings The Museum’s collection of European and American paintings is distinguished by its portraits and landscapes from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Masterpieces such as John Singleton Copley’s, Mrs.Charles McEvers and Joseph Wright of Derby’s Sarah Clayton are powerful examples of the ability of portraiture, to communicate the private social, and economic status of people from other times and places. A choice selection of scenic landscapes, impressionistic portraits, and interiors by Eleanor Norcross, the Museum’s founder, and luscious still lifes from the late nineteenth century round out the Museum’s permanent exhibition of exceptional works of art by American, French and English artists.             Rockwell Kent American, 1882-1971 Monadnock Afternoon Oil on canvas Gift of Mrs. Paul Mellon in memory of her grandfather Arthur H. Lowe