-By Dan dos Santos

Personally, I think there is no better way to celebrate Autumn than to hop in the car, enjoy the New England foliage, and visit some of my favorite museums. To make it even better, there are a lot of fantastic exhibits to see right now.

For New Englanders, The Lyman Allyn Museum in Connecticut is currently hosting Dinotopia: Art, Science, and Imagination.

I’m sure if you’re a regular reader of this blog, you already know who James Gurney, the creator of Dinotopia, is. But this new display of work should be of particular interest to artists as it not only showcases James’ final works, but also his sketches, color studies, and maquettes.

It is an intensive retrospective which delves into the entire creation of the book, which is currently enjoying it’s 20th Anniversary.

The exhibition runs from September 22nd – February 2, 1013.

Also in Connecticut, just a 20 minute ride from Manhattan, is Flash Gordon and the Heroes of the Universe, hosted by the Stamford Museum & Nature Center.

This exhibit showcases artwork by two of the finest Flash Gordon illustrators, Alex Raymond and Al Williamson, as well as numerous other science fiction cartoonists. The artwork and memorabilia on display, representing space adventure creations from Buck Rogers to Star Wars, provides evidence of the significant impact that these heroes of the universe have had on American culture.

If any of you have seen the Al Williamson Archives that have recently been released by Flesk Publications, you already know what a phenomenal draftsman the man was. I, for one, can not wait to see some of these drawings in person.

The exhibit runs from September 22nd- November 4th.

Just a little further north, the Norman Rockwell Museum is hosting Howard Pyle: American Master Rediscovered.

Hopefully, Howard Pyle doesn’t need an introduction. But for those of you who are not familiar with his work, let’s just say his informal title as ‘The Grandfather of American Illustration’ is very well deserved, and quite possibly a little bit inadequate.

This exhibit has been up for a little while now, and comes down in less than a month. I encourage all of you that can, to take advantage of this opportunity to see it.

(On a related note, The Norman Rockwell Museum will also be host to an upcoming retrospective of Alex Ross‘ comic book art, so keep your eyes peeled for that in November!)

For you West Coasters, tonight is the opening reception for Borrowed Memories at Thinkspace Gallery.

This two woman show spotlights the work of Tran Nguyen (above) and Stella Im Hultberg.

I’m a big fan of Tran’s work, and was fortunate enough to see a sneak peek of the show. As usual, Tran doesn’t disappoint. Her works are imaginative, feminine, and from a technical standpoint, stellar.

If you’re in the area, this is definitely the place to be tonight.