Continuing its celebration of American Impressionist painting, the Bermuda National Gallery has invited one of America's leading experts on late 19th and early 20th century American painting to give a lecture tomorrow evening to Gallery members and the general public.

Paul R. Provost, of Christie's American Paintings and Sculptures Dept. will speak on `At Home and Abroad: American Impressionism during the Gilded Age'.

He will discuss major Impressionist painters such as Childe Hassam, William Glackens, Cecilia Beaux, Frank Weston Benson and Frederick Carl Frieseke, all of whom are represented in the Gallery's current exhibition, `Light, Air and Colour: American Impressionist Paintings from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts'.

Before joining Christie's two years ago, Mr. Provost was curator of paintings and sculpture at the New York Historical Society. With a Ph.D. in American paintings and drawing from Princeton, Dr. Provost helped organise major exhibitions that travelled to the National Gallery of Art in Washington and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Since his arrival at Christie's, a thirst for American paintings of the so-called `Gilded Age' seems to have increased: the record sum of $2,642,500 was paid this year for Winslow Homer's `Home Sheet Home' (for the Washington National Gallery of Art), and, last year, another record was set when a bidder paid $4,072,500 for Mary Cassatt's `In the Box' (Cassatt studied at the Pennsylvania Academy for a time before pursuing her career in Europe).

Dr. Provost's lecture will take place at the Bermuda National Gallery, tomorrow, October 23, commencing at 5.45 for 6.00 p.m. A reception will follow the lecture. Reservations are advised as space is limited -- members $10 and non-members $15.

HOME SWEET HOMER -- American impressionist Winslow Homer's civil war era classic, `Home Sweet Home,' realised a record price for the artist, commanding $2,642,500 at a Christie's auction in New York City this past June.