Adelphi, Md. (March 18, 2025)–The Arts Program at University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) has announced that it will host Scenes of Figurative Narration, an exhibition that explores the work of Baltimore native Joseph Sheppard, an internationally renowned painter and sculptor whose work has been featured in collections around the world.
An opening reception for Scenes of Figurative Narration will take place on Sunday, March 23, from 3–5 p.m. at the Leroy Merritt Center and the Dorothy L. and Henry A. Rosenberg Jr. Painting Gallery at UMGC headquarters in Adelphi, Maryland.
“Sheppard is a master of the art style of realism,” said Eric Key, director of the Arts Program at UMGC. “His carefully researched and varied artworks include historical depictions of everyday life, and especially noteworthy are his scenes of life in Baltimore.”
The exhibition features 18 vibrant paintings spanning the artist’s seven decades in art. His commitment to realism, demonstrated in his attention to detail and passion for representing the human form, is evident in works across a range of subjects and human experiences.
Scenes of Figurative Narration was curated by Sheppard himself, who was born in Owings Mills, Maryland, in 1930, and has been a pillar of Maryland’s arts community for more than 60 years. In 2010, the Leroy Merritt Center for the Art of Joseph Sheppard opened at the UMGC administrative headquarters to showcase his mastery and serve as a resource for scholars and patrons of the arts.
Celebrated for his work with the human figure, Sheppard has produced countless compositions over the course of a long career. He studied at what is now the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) with painter Jacques Maroger, who had been a technical director of the Louvre. Sheppard later returned to MICA to teach painting, anatomy and life drawing for 15 years.
Sheppard’s works are found in several collections, including the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Carnegie Institute Museum of Art in Pittsburgh. In 2011, the City of Baltimore unveiled the Brooks Robinson statue, a sculpture created by Sheppard to commemorate the life and career of the Baltimore Oriole Hall of Fame player.
About UMGC
For more than 75 years, UMGC has worked to bring education within reach for underserved populations, including adult learners in the workforce and the military. Its Arts Program supports that mission, introducing the works of new and emerging talents and expanding the audiences of established artists. Today, UMGC is the largest provider of postsecondary education in Maryland. It continues its global tradition with online and hybrid courses, more than 175 classroom and service locations worldwide, and more than 135 degrees and certificates backed by the reputation the University System of Maryland. For more information, visit umgc.edu.
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