Larkin Gallery, Inc.
405 Commercial Street
Provincetown, MA 02657
508.487.6111
Larkin Gallery, Inc.
586 Main Street
Harwich Port, MA 02646
508.487.3111
Neva Hansen
1935 - 2023
Neva Hansen, one of Larkin Gallery’s most celebrated and prolific artists, died on October 11, 2023 at 87 years.
Neva’s life and career could be seen, in truth, as one. She lived her art and explored every facet of life through art and art through life. Her keen interest in seashells, stones and feathers was no less important to her than her exploration of space, color, form and technique. If questioned about this she’d likely appear, for a moment, confused and then, if you were very lucky, you’d see the glint in her eye and she’d turn slightly toward whatever object captured her interest at that moment and you’d know to follow. Minutes, hours or years later, you might have one of those “ah, ha” experiences and remember Neva led you there.
Hansen’s work is inspiring, overwhelming, intense, simple and jaw-droppingly impressive. From a small and elegant watercolor simply painted yet with grace and power, to an enormous, complicated construction that seems to “do” countless things with color, shadow and
light, Hansen’s work is never self-conscious; she didn’t have time for that or, perhaps more accurately, she wouldn’t have wasted the time for that.
For most of her years, from early childhood, Hansen was an artist, a true artist, one who sought the eternal in the temporal, the sea in the shell, the cosmos in the light of a star. She spent her life, every day, with the simple tools of an artist and in her case, she and they were a perfect match and in her rarefied existence, she made Art. We who experience Hansen’s art are the lucky ones. We, who experienced Neva herself, are not just lucky; we’re forever charmed for we’ve been shown a glimpse of what she could see.
Neva Hansen Legacy