The Risley Gallery at The Forman School is a small, elegant art gallery bathed in natural light from the skylight that illuminates exhibits on display. The gallery was added to what is now the Johnson Art Center when the building was both renovated and enlarged in the early 1990s. In addition to works of art created by faculty, students and alumni of Forman, the gallery hosts exhibitions by local and other artists.

The gallery, which was designed as both a space for teaching art students as well as exhibiting fine arts, is named for Virginia Solley deSieyes Risley deCourcy of Washington, Connecticut, who passed away in March of 2008. She was a Forman trustee from 1978 – 1992. A gracious individual with strong leadership skills, “Gina” was Chairman of the board for a time and became a Trustee Emeritus upon her retirement as an active trustee.

In 1994, this exceptional woman was recipient of the John N. Forman Award presented at a dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York in recognition of her work on behalf of the Forman School, other schools and the cause of conservation. She also is a former chair of The Gunnery Board of Trustees and has been a very active alumna on behalf of Smith College. Another major interest of hers was the preservation of the environment, and she was a staunch member of Steep Rock Association, a land trust, in Washington. A portrait of Virginia Risley deCourcy, painted by Forman alumna Candace Whittemore Lovely '71, hangs within the art center.

Johnson Art Center was formally dedicated in June 1992. Architect Jeffrey Bellows of Bellows Architects designed the project. The contractor was United Construction and Engineering Inc. The building housing the gallery is now named for J. Seward Johnson, famed sculptor and a 1949 alumnus of the school, and his wife Joyce, a patron of the arts, writer and producer of plays. Both Johnsons served on the Forman Board of Trustees at one time.

The original structure was built in 1931 by the former Spring Hill School. The building served as a gymnasium and was named Kingsbury Hall. In 1961 the structure was re-named Haggart Hall after alumnus Duncan Haggart ’48. The former gymnasium then was used as a dining hall. When the Peirce Dining Hall was completed in 1988, meals were served there and the conversion and expansion of Haggart began. It now is a modern arts facility with studios for instruction in ceramics, sculpture, painting, photography and video. Theater productions continue on the original stage.

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