A painter known for his Southern and Appalachian Mountains genre, Alan Shuptrine has extended his reputation from a renowned framemaker and water gilder to a nationally acclaimed watercolorist. Born the son of recognized painter, Hubert Shuptrine (1936-2006), Alan has continued the legacy of realism that both Andrew Wyeth and his father Hubert established.
A resident of Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, Shuptrine’s pursuit of the arts includes schooling at The Baylor School (Chattanooga, TN); The University of the South (Sewanee, TN); and The University of Tennessee (Knoxville, TN).
His realistic watercolors are highly detailed and exhibit dramatic lighting in both his landscapes and figurative paintings. Shuptrine’s medium is primarily watercolor which he applies and controls in various techniques, from wet-in-wet to drybrush. He prefers to handcraft, carve, and gold leaf his own frames for his paintings.
Recognized by publications such as American Artist Magazine and Watercolor Artist Magazine, Shuptrine garnered additional recognition when he was asked to participate in the exhibit, In the Tradition of Wyeth: Contemporary Watercolor Masters at The Vero Beach Museum of Art in 2010. The exhibition opened with Alan’s paintings displayed alongside the works by Andrew Wyeth and his father.
Following the Vero Beach exhibition, the Huntsville Museum of Art and The Tennessee State Museum selected Shuptrine’s watercolors for their permanent collections. After participating in numerous juried exhibitions and receiving awards from national and international watercolor societies, Shuptrine launched his first solo museum exhibition in May, 2017. The exhibition opened at the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville and celebrates the Celtic roots of the Appalachian Mountains. Serving as a monument to the descendants of early English, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh who settled the Eastern Seaboard, this art collection and soon-to-be coffee table book and documentary film, will collectively preserve mountain heritage and traditions for future generations.
Upon completion of the traveling exhibition, Alan collaborated with Best-Selling author, avid hiker, and sought-after storyteller, Jennifer Pharr Davis, for his first fine art, coffee table book that launched in Fall, 2019. Titled, I Come From A Place, this thematic book contains images of Shuptrine’s watercolors, as well as Pharr Davis’ prose and serves to collectively preserve and celebrate the mountain heritage and traditions for future generations. The book was awarded the Independent Publisher’s Book Award for Best Southeastern Non-Fiction Book for 2020.
Featured Artist, Grand Bohemian Gallery – The Kessler Collection, Birmingham, AL, Dec 2019 – December 2020
Biltmore Farms Featured Speaker, Asheville, NC, May 2019
Reframed: American Women from the Sellars Collection featuring framing by Alan Shuptrine, The Huntsville Museum of Art, Summer 2019
Alan Shuptrine: Appalachian Watercolors of The Serpentine Chain, Tennessee State Museum (Nashville, TN) in May, 2017, Morris Museum of Art (Augusta, GA), January-April, 2018; Huntsville Museum of Art (AL), May- August, 2018; Museum Center a 5ive Points (Cleveland, TN), September 2018-January, 2019.
In the Tradition of Wyeth: Contemporary Watercolor Masters, Vero Beach Museum of Art, Vero Beach FL, 2011-2012
The Serpentine Chain Collection Preview, Tennessee Association of Museums, Nashville, TN, 2016
Tennessee Watercolor Society Juried Exhibition, Nashville, TN, 2016
Water Gilding: A Lost Art, Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, AL, 2016
The Serpentine Chain Collection Preview, The Poinsett Club, Greenville, SC, 2016
The Serpentine Chain Collection Preview, The Biltmore Forest Country Club, Asheville, NC, 2015
The Bascom Guest Instructor Exhibition, Highlands, NC, 2014
Hudson Valley Art Association Juried Exhibition, New York, 2013
National Watercolor Society Members Only Juried Exhibition Finalist, 2012
National Watercolor Society, Finalist in Members Juried Exhibition, San Pedro, California, 2011
The Bascom: A Center for the Visual Arts, Members Exhibition, Highlands, NC, 2010
Tennessee Watercolor Society Annual Juried Exhibition, Chattanooga, TN, 2010
Salmagundi Art Club Floral Exhibition, NY, 2010
Huntsville Museum of Art Annual Gala, Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, AL, 2009
The Southern Watercolor Society Juried Annual Exhibition Finalist, 2009
Spectrum, Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga, TN, 2009
Salmagundi Art Club Annual Juried Painting/Sculpture Exhibition, Non-Members, NYC, 2008
Tennessee Watercolor Society Annual Juried Exhibition, Knoxville, TN, 2008
Tennessee Art League Central Art Exhibition National, Nashville, TN, 2008
Southern Watercolor Society Annual Juried Exhibition, Quincy, FL, 2008
Greenville County Museum of Art Antiques & Exhibitions, Greenville, SC, 2006
Independent Publisher Book Award for Best Southeastern Non-Fiction Book for I Come From A Place, 2020
Okra Magazine, Southern-Made Artist Spotlight, December, 2019
Blue Ridge Country Magazine Featured Artist, July 2019
Watercolor Artist Magazine, Must-See Show of the Season, October 2017
Watercolor Artist Magazine, Featured Artist, February, 2015
My Artist Portfolio Landscape 2012 International Juried Competition, Honorable Mention, 2012
American Artist Magazine All Media Competition, Watercolor Honorable Mention, 2012
35th Annual Southern Watercolor Society Juried Exhibition Finalist, Winner of the Colart Americas (Winsor and Newton) Award, 2012
Tennessee Watercolor Society Biennial Juried Exhibition Finalist, Winner of the Beauty of Water Media Award, and achieved Signature Membership, 2012
Salmagundi Art Club Annual Juried Exhibition, Certificate of Merit, 2011, NYC
Tennessee Watercolor Society Juried Exhibition, Outstanding Technical Award, 2010
Cover Finalist for American Artist Watercolor Magazine, Summer 2008 Issue
Artist Colony Annual International Online Exhibition, 2nd Place Overall, 2008
Permanent Collection, Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, AL
Permanent Collection, Tennessee State Museum, Nashville, TN
Permanent Collection, Morris Museum of Art, Augusta, GA
Permanent Collection of The Baylor School, Chattanooga, Tennessee
Permanent Collections of Textile Rubber, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia
Permanent Collection of Fletcher Bright Realty, Tennessee and Georgia
Permanent Collections of over 80 individual watercolors and fine handmade frames privately collected in the United States and Japan for The Serpentine Chain Collections.
Permanent Collection of Dr. and Mrs. Al Peabody, Greenville, South Carolina
Permanent Collection of Mr. James Dicke, Crowne Corporation, Ohio
Permanent Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Robertson, New York, NY.
Permanent Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Underwood, New Jersey
Private Collections, North and South Carolina
Private Collections, Alabama
Private Collections, Tennessee
Private Collections, Georgia
Private Collection, Florida
Private Collection, Louisiana
Private Collection, South Carolina
Private Collection, Watercolor and Gilded pieces, Japan
And other permanent and private collections that are too numerous to name individually. Shuptrine continues to provide commission pieces to individual clientele.
Guest Water Gilding Instructor, Florence Academy of Art, September 2021
Mastercraftsman of Gilded Frames for Permanent Collection of Andrew Wyeth original watercolors, Greenville County Museum of Art, Greenville, South Carolina.
Restoration and Conservation of Permanent Collection, post-Hurricane Katrina, Permanent Collections, New Orleans Museum of Art
Restoration and Conservation of Gilded Historical Period Antiques, The Swan House, The Atlanta History Center, Atlanta, Georgia
Gold Leaf restoration of period Antiques, The Georgia Governor’s Mansion, Atlanta, Georgia
Restoration and Conservation of Gold Leaf, and fine paintings, of the Natchez Historical Park, Natchez, Mississippi
Birmingham Museum of Art, AL
Booth Western Art Museum, GA
Greenville County Museum of Art, SC
Hunter Museum of American Art, TN
Huntsville Museum of Art, AL
Morris Museum of Art, GA
New Orleans Museum of Art, LA
The Bascom, Highlands, NC
Vero Beach Museum of Art, FL