Shades of Grey brings together 10 paintings by French painter Louis Welden Hawkins... These paintings are contextualized within the school of Naturalism and the artists’ colonies that existed in France in the late 1800s. While the French Impressionists commonly dominate the history of later 19th century art, the story often goes untold of the artists who resisted the celebration of the city that commonly infused Impressionism, and migrated to the countryside, where artistic colonies began to develop. Hawkins was one of these artists, and his paintings depicting peasants and rural life were executed in the picturesque artistic communities of Barbizon and Grez-sur-Loing. ...Hawkins’ paintings are seldom exhibited and very little scholarship has existed on his life and work. Shades of Grey, presents an unprecedented look at Hawkins’ life, his work, and the framework within which these unfolded. (http://www.mta.ca/owens/exhibitions/past/2010/hawkins.php)