Lionel Reinford, of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, is a well-known and highly respected educator, community activist, and artist in this region. Born in Honduras and educated at Harvard University, Mr. Reinford moved to Leominster in 1973 to teach elementary school students. Shortly thereafter, he became involved with Leominster’s SpanishAmerican Center, a non-profit that serves area Latino/Hispanic communities, where he eventually became the Executive Director for many years. He also began to paint.

After receiving some basic instruction in painting techniques and materials, Mr. Reinford quickly developed his own signature style based on his observations of art history, folk art, and nature. He uses bright colors, sinuous lines, and clear crisp compositions to create images of places from his childhood in Honduras, to scenes of local interest, to views of landscapes from his travels across the United States and the world. His paintings are also informed by history, folklore, childhood memories, and his vivid imagination. In Mr. Reinford’s world, the sun shines at high noon in cloudless skies. Every detail is clear, and everything is ordered without being rigid. Mr. Reinford says that he paints in a “plain style,” to “show the world as he would like it to be.” He has been painting this way for over forty years.

Mr. Reinford’s work has appeared many times at the Fitchburg Art Museum in our annual juried Regional Exhibition of Art & Craft – in fact, the first time he entered the show he won first prize! We are now proud to present this artist’s first solo retrospective museum exhibition, Mr. Reinford’s World.