Valerie Von Betzen

"In these nighttime scenes, I like to emphasize the numerous light sources such as neon signs in barroom windows, car headlights, and the interior light emanating from the shops, and contrast all of these with an ebbing evening light."
-Valerie Von Betzen

Valerie Von Betzen's twilight and evening scenes of river towns along the Delaware River, from Easton, Pennsylvania to Lambertville, New Jersey, explore the variety of light sources emanating from the shops, taverns, automobiles, and bridge guardhouses unique to these towns. Von Betzen is inspired by the haunting beauty and quiet, lonely qualities of life in small river communities.

After studying at the Art Students League and spending a year in Europe, Von Betzen studied English, Literature, and Art at Bard College. She also worked as Art Director for McGraw-Hill Publishing in New York. Upon leaving corporate life, Von Betzen relocated to Bucks County, where she returned to painting full-time.

She has exhibited locally at the Phillips' Mill Annual Art Exhibitions, the Tinicum Art Festival, the Lambertville Historical Society, and she was part of the 2005 exhibition, The Contemporary Eye, at the Michener Art Museum.

Education and Training
Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York
Hunter College, New York
Art Students League, New York, New York
Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York
School of Visual Arts, New York, New York
San Francisco State College, San Francisco, CA
UCLA, Los Angeles, CA

Teachers and Influences
Von Betzen favors the early 1400s artists of Italy and the Netherlands.
She studied life drawing with Robert McNulty.

Connection to Bucks County
Von Betzen lives in Durham, Bucks County. She is a regular exhibitor and has earned several awards at the Phillips' Mill Annual Art Exhibition, the Tinicum Arts Festival, and the Lambertville Historical Society's Annual Exhibitions.

Major Solo Exhibitions
Horticultural Society of New York, New York, NY, 1989
New York Botanical Society, Bronx, NY, 1991
Stover Mill Gallery, Erwinna, PA, 1992
Katharina Rich Perlow Gallery, New York, NY, 1997, 2000, 2002
Morpeth Gallery, Hopewell, NJ, 2002
Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio, 2007
Hunterton Museum of Art, Clinton, NJ, 2007-2008

Major Group Exhibitions
Salmagundi Club, New York, New York, 1990
Hunterdon Art Museum, Clinton, New Jersey, 1991, 1995
Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, Pennsylvania, 1992, 1998
Coryell Gallery, Lambertville, NJ, 1993, 1997, 2003
Cheekwood Art Museum, Nashville, TN, 1994
Rodale Gallery, Allentown, PA, 1992, 1994
Fine Arts Institute of the San Bernardino County Museum, Redlands, CA, 1995
Bianco Gallery Juried Exhibition, Buckingham, PA, 1995
Small Works Show, New York University, New York, NY, 1995, 1996
National Juried Exhibit, OK Harris Gallery, New York, NY, 1996
Great Plains National Painting Competition, Hays, KS, 1997
Small Works Show, Philadelphia Sketch Club, Philadelphia, PA, 1997
Juried Exhibition, Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs, CA, 1997
Artsbridge Annual Juried Exhibition, Stockton, NJ, 1998
Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY, 1998, 1999
Palm Beach Art Fair, Palm Beach, FL, 1999
Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH, 2003
The Contemporary Eye, Michener Art Museum, New Hope, PA, 2005

Major Awards
Phillips' Mill Art Association, New Hope, PA, 1987, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2003
Tinicum Art Festival, Erwinna, PA, 1987, 1992, 1996
Lambertville Historical Society Award, Coryell Gallery, Lambertville, NJ, 1995
Small Works Art Show, New York University, 1995
Bianco Gallery Juried Show, 1995

Affiliations and Memberships
New York Artists Equity