East Hampton - The Vered Gallery has two exhibition on display: Gallery I - Landscapes/Seascapes, and Gallery II - Contemporary, Modern Art and Rare Photographs through January 25, 2012.

"Landscapes/Seascapes" in Gallery I, reminds the viewer of 'roots' in a subtle way. Several newly arrived Wolf Kahn's 'scream' to be shown - a delicious, massive 80 inch, blazingly beautiful orange and fuscia, autumnal water view is the centerpiece of the exhibition.

Thomas Hart Benton Flowers 1922-1923. (Courtesy Photo: The Vered Gallery)

It is surrounded by works by Balcomb Greene - Montauk Cliffs and Sea, Thomas Moran's Montauk view, a pair of Bob Dash Sagaponack views - and a rich selection of works by Milton Avery. A highlight of the exhibition is a group of Benton 'discoveries,' exciting synchromist 1922-1923 flower oil paintings by Thomas Hart Benton, given as a gift by him in the 1930s to Jackson Pollock. Benton felt toward Jackson, like a surrogate father. He intended the works to be both an artistic inspiration and an inheritance to Jackson.

Modern and Contemporary Art and 19th and 20th Century Vintage Photographs are offered in Gallery II: The Modernist, large, often more abstract views in Gallery II include two major works by Larry Rivers, "Dancers 1993" and "Divers 1968," a monumental cast aluminum and steel wall relief from Frank Stella's Ancient Middle East Archaeology series, a grand scale Coney Island view by Milton Avery, "Sea Max" by Dan Christensen, recently completed works by Hunt Slonem of his trademark butterflies, birds, Flowers and Rabbits; and Tony Smith's maquette for his most important sculpture, "Tau." as well as photographs both 19th and 20th century.

The earliest photographic view's in the exhibition date from the 1850s are salt prints. The Crimean War of 1855, was the first war to have been photographed. The view by the English photographer, Roger Fenton of sailing ships, a tented encampment, cattle and a dizzying array of wharf buildings and commerce in the Balaclava Harbor is a prime example of early photography. A more romantic view by Gustave le Gray of the Emperors Camp at Chalon, on the outskirts of Paris in 1857, is followed by another Paris view, also a pristine print, by Eugene Atget of the statue of Pan in Parc Versailles c. 1902. Jumping to the 1930s are Lewis Hine's amazing view taken hundreds of feet off the ground of Empire State Building being built in 1931, Aleksandr Rodchenko's famous human tower of 1935 and finally Man Ray's impressive, solarized, airbrushed print by of Meret Oppenheim of 1938. The exhibition closes with the great platinum print portrait of John Marin by .

Vered Gallery, 68 Park Place, East Hampton. Hours are Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. For directions: 631-324-3303.