The 2026 Recipients

June, 2026

PAAM is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2026 Lillian Orlowsky and William Freed Grant: Aaron Morgan Brown, Wichita, KS; Jeff Chapman-Crane, Eolia, KY; Meg Lagodzki, Bloomington, IN; and Robin Reynolds, North Brookfield, MA.

The jurors were: Forrest Williams, a New York based figurative painter who’s had numerous solo and group exhibitions across the US and Canada; Jan Taylor, interim Co-Director at the New Art Center, with more than 25 years in arts leadership and a native of Provincetown; and Karolyn Fraine, a painter, printmaker, educator, and museum professional.

The recipients were selected from more than 600 applicants. Now in its 16th year, The Lillian Orlowsky and William Freed Grant has awarded 60 recipients in total, disbursing more than one-half of a million dollars. Recipients have hailed from every region of the US including Puerto Rico.

THE ARTISTS

Aaron Morgan Brown

Aaron M. Brown (April 4, 1964), is originally from Wichita, KS. He received a BFA from the University of Kansas, and MFA from Syracuse University. Awards include grants from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, and the Lillian Orlowsky and William Freed grant. He has participated in group and solo exhibitions internationally. His work has been featured in publications such as New American Paintings, American Art Collector, and Harper’s magazine.

Jeff Chapman-Crane

Jeff Chapman-Crane is a full-time professional artist from the southern Appalachian Mountains, where he has lived and practiced his art since the early 1970s. His art focuses on the culture of Appalachia, with an emphasis on portraits of mountain people.

Jeff has been painting for over forty years since being challenged and inspired by his high school art teacher, Don Hilton. Following the tenets of the American Society of Classical Realism, Jeff’s work encompasses the highest principles of traditional representational art – fine drawing, balanced design, harmonious color, and skillful craftsmanship. While not in the stylized realism of American Regionalism, his work shares a strong identification with a particular region – conveying geographic features of the land and unique human, cultural, and social characteristics.

Chapman-Crane’s work has been featured in American Artist magazine, and he is a four-time finalist in the Artists Magazine’s annual portrait competition. He was also the illustrator for the children’s book, “Ragsale,” which won Best in Show at the 1995 New England Bookfair.

Meg Lagodzki

Meg Lagodzki (b. 1970) is a Bloomington, Indiana-based painter and mixed media artist whose work explores the intricate relationship between humanity and nature. Specializing in highly detailed collaged paintings, she focuses on landscapes that reveal evidence of disturbance, whether human-caused or natural. She creates much of her work in the lush, mature forest around her home. Through collaborations with ecologists, scientists, and forestry experts, her work celebrates biodiversity and advocates for reconnecting with the natural world amid climate change and diminishing biodiversity.

Her work has been exhibited nationally in both commercial and non-profit venues, and is held in private and public collections nationwide. Lagodzki is represented by Momentum Gallery in Asheville, North Carolina.

Robin Reynolds

Robin Reynolds is a contemporary plein air painter and collage artist who draws her inspiration from her backyard garden. She is concerned with the dichotomy that exists between abstraction and representation widely focusing on color, layering and mark making to achieve her vibrant paintings and collages.

Reynolds has shown extensively throughout New England, New York and in Santa Fe in various one person and group shows. She has also won numerous awards, grants and residencies, which include The Lillian Orlowsky and William Freed Foundation Grant from the Provincetown Art Association and Museum, Mass Cultural Council award, and attending the Millay Colony, Vermont Studio School and Dorland Mountain Arts Colony.

Reynolds earned her MFA from Savannah College of Art & Design, and a BFA from Massachusetts College of Art and a BA from Colby College. She is represented by Soprafina Gallery, Boston, MA, Perry Lawson Gallery, Nyack NY, Cynthia Winings Gallery, Blue Hill, ME, and Bryan Memorial Gallery, Stowe, VT. Reynolds presently lives and works in North Brookfield, MA with her husband and three daughters.