Story by Emily Chambliss
Photos by Madeline Nguyen
On a cold December morning in downtown Salisbury, N.C., two classes of fifth graders file into the Waterworks Visual Arts Center, excited to spend a day outside of the classroom. The kids talk over the teacher. A girl dares her friend to do a handstand against the wall. Two boys hit each other repeatedly with water bottles.
Eventually, a teacher manages to settle them. A volunteer attendant poses the students a question.
“When you think about famous artists, who comes to mind?” she asked.
A boy clad in a Super Mario Brothers sweatshirt raised his hand from the back row.
“Picasso,” he said quietly.
At the front of the room hung three vibrant Picasso paintings.
For many of these students, seeing the work of Picasso and other renowned artists is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The “Never Before Seen… Modern Masterpieces,” exhibit brings larger-than-life art to their hometown.
Nestled among Salisbury’s historic red-brick streets, the Waterworks Visual Arts Center is known for showcasing local talent, but thanks to a Salisbury family’s private collection temporarily on loan, the gallery can display the works of international icons.
The exhibit consists of 38 paintings and two sculptures from artists like Picasso, Monet, Renoir, Kandinsky and others, each piece displaying a unique facet of modern art.
“Seeing these pieces come out of their crates and onto the walls was incredible,” Anna Sido, collections manager at art advisory firm Ruth Catone Goulding, said. “There’s nothing quite like seeing a Picasso or a Monet come to life in a space like this”
The art is on loan from the Robertson family’s private collection. Julian Robertson, a Salisbury native, was a billionaire investor and philanthropist best known for founding Tiger Management, one of the earliest and most successful hedge funds. A 1955 graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, much of Robertson and his family’s philanthropy focused on education, environmental conservation and cultural initiatives in North Carolina.
During their lifetimes, Julian Robertson and his wife, Josie, built a private art collection full of famous, high-caliber pieces. Sharing the collection with Julian Robertson’s hometown became a key part of the foundation’s mission to honor his life.
Jason Walser, executive director of the Blanche & Robertson Family Foundation, said the foundation collaborated with Waterworks to ensure that as many people as possible could experience the exhibit.
“It’s a world-class art exhibit. These are masterpieces. They don’t come to many big cities, let alone a small town like Salisbury,” he said.
The students whispered as they wandered around the exhibit, taking a look at Monet’s tranquil riverscape “The Seine at Argenteuil” and Francis Picabia’s playful abstract “At the Theater.”
“It’s like a pretty donkey,” one girl said of Marc Chagall’s “The Acrobat on Horseback.”
Picasso’s “Head of Woman (The Crying Woman)” drew a lot of attention from the students. One said it looked weird. Another called it beautiful.
“These children may not remember every detail, but they’ll remember that they saw a Picasso, that they created something inspired by it,” Anne Scott Clement, director of Waterworks, said. “That memory will stick with them.”
For Waterworks, hosting this exhibit is a historic milestone. The gallery, already nationally accredited, has transformed itself to accommodate these masterpieces. Clement said the collection is presented with meticulous attention to detail to honor both the artists and the legacies of Julian and Josie Robertson.
While major museums in Raleigh and Charlotte often host similar exhibits, the opportunity for Salisbury, a town with a population of just over 36,000, to showcase works of this caliber is rare.
Salisbury’s arts scene is already unusually robust for a town of its size, boasting a symphony, theater productions and several galleries. But this exhibit, Clement said, marks a new level of cultural engagement.
At the heart of the exhibit is an educational program that aims to make art accessible to the youngest members of the community. There are nearly 20,000 students in Rowan County, and each will have the opportunity to take a field trip to Waterworks to see the pieces firsthand, with transportation funded by the Blanche and Julian Robertson Family Foundation.
Walser described this as a logistical challenge but also a tremendous opportunity to inspire the next generation.
“When I was in fifth grade, I would have been blown away by this experience,” he said.
The experience doesn’t end with viewing the paintings. In a bright, upstairs studio, students use markers and colored construction paper to create their own Picasso portraits.
And the educational impact goes beyond the immediate experience of viewing the art. Local teachers are able to incorporate the exhibit into their curricula, using it as a springboard for discussions on creativity, history and cultural expression. For many students, this is their first exposure to world-class art, and it has the potential to leave a lasting impression.
“For kids to not just see the art, but to engage with it—to make something themselves—is a really exciting part of this program,” Sido said.
The Robertson Foundation worked with Ruth Catone Goulding and the Waterworks team to coordinate the shipping, installation and display of paintings valued in the millions.
The gallery space itself underwent a transformation to accommodate the exhibit, creating a layout that protected the pieces and maximized visitor experience. Paintings were grouped into landscapes, portraits and abstraction, allowing visitors to explore the evolution of modern art in a cohesive narrative.
“It was really the vision that made it come to life,” Sido said.
Waterworks has seen a large uptick in attendance, with visitors traveling from across the state and country to see the collection.
But beyond the impacts of tourism, the exhibit is changing how Salisbury sees itself.
“It’s about pride,” Peter Nisbet, deputy director at Ackland Art Museum in Chapel Hill, which will also host the exhibit, said. “When a small town gets the chance to host something this significant, it transforms how people view their community—and themselves.”
Walser said he often hears of locals feeling a renewed sense of civic pride, seeing their town celebrated as a cultural destination.
The exhibit also reflects broader trends in the art world toward accessibility and inclusivity. For Jared Ledesma, curator at the North Carolina Museum of Art, “Never Before Seen… Modern Masterpieces” is an example of how art can serve as a bridge.
“There’s a growing recognition that art isn’t just for collectors or academics,” Ledesma said. “It’s for everyone. And when kids in a small town like Salisbury get to see a Picasso up close, it changes what they think is possible.”
This belief in the power of art was central to the Robertson family’s vision for the exhibit and the future of their private collection.
“It meant a lot for them to leave their art to the state of North Carolina, to the people of North Carolina,” Walser said. “They wanted the people of North Carolina to be able to have access to this amazing repository of modern art.”
For Salisbury, this exhibit is more than a cultural event—it highlights how art can strengthen community bonds, inspire pride and expand horizons. When the exhibit moves on next year, it leaves a lasting impact on a town enriched by the presence of modern masterpieces.
“This exhibit is a reminder that great art belongs to everyone, no matter where they live,” Nisbet said. “It’s a transformative moment, one that can inspire both pride in the community and a broader appreciation for culture.”
