Welcome to the Alice and John Tyler Gallery

Many people wonder how a small town like Dunbar came to inherit such a rich art legacy as the Alice and John Tyler Collection. The Gallery is named for Alice and John Tyler who were patrons of Suzanne Pascal. Over the years, the Tylers donated a large number of Pascal's works to the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. The Gallery closed in 2014 and the art went into storage. Public display of the art was a condition of the original contract with the Corcoran. Because that condition was disregarded, Susanne Jill Petty, Pascal's daughter, who was a trustee of the Alice C. Tyler Art Trust sued to recover the art. Once the lawsuit was won, the collection was divided with half of the collection going the Marymount High School in Los Angeles, California, and the other half coming to Dunbar in 2023. Marymount celebrated the Gala opening of the Alice and John Tyler Gallery October 14, 2024. Because the Seated Torso originated in Dunbar, Pascal's family considered this her legacy.

The artist known as Pascal was born Suzanne Pascal in Miles City, Montana, on March 19, 1914. Her parents were Ann Kenny and Charles Pascal, a French restauranteur and candy maker. Charles Pascal opened a candy store in Helena, Montana, and the family lived above the store until he died from the Spanish Flu in 1918. Ann attempted to keep the candy store running, however, she struggled to keep the business afloat. Ann moved to Spokane with her children, Pascal and Charles and made their home there for many years, eventually, moving to Seattle.

As a young girl, Pascal loved art and spent her days drawing and sketching. She'd sit for hours in their garden, painting the flowers, the sky, and the people she'd see walking by. Due to deafness, she was unable to attend public school and was sent to Italy to study sculpture under Professor Julius Attilio. She also studied Impressionist style painting in Paris with Marcel Dyf for 10 years. Feeling a strong natural inclination for sculpture, though, she later returned to it. Pascal began sculpting glass at the age of 41, using glass from Italy, Mexico, and other locations in the US, but it was the glass from Dunbar, PA that had the qualities she was looking for.

Pascal also loved the theater and music. She met Jules Buffano after a performance at The Paramount Theater. Jules was a band leader, musical composer and conductor. The two fell madly in love and were married in 1934. They later welcomed a daughter, Suzanne Jill. Jules' career took the family to Los Angeles where they settled for a few years, until they amicably divorced.

Life would take Pascal on many adventures and down many different paths, including moving back to Seattle where she married Al Rosenberg. After his death, she moved to Beverly Hills where she made her permanent home with Ann and Jill. When Pascal first moved to Beverly Hills, money was scarce. To help make ends meet, Pascal followed in her father's culinary footsteps and created Susie's Caramel Corn, named after herself and her daughter. She, along with her mother and daughter, made the caramel corn, packaged it and sold it. The business became extremely successful and was eventually purchased by Laura Scudder's.

Pascal loved to sketch and paint, but she was always intrigued by the medium of glass. She discovered an abandoned glass factory in Dunbar, Pennsylvania and taught herself how to turn the enormous chunks of glass into realistic sculptures revealing the fourth dimension within. Pascal took her sculptures to Europe where she eventually found a gallery that took a chance on an unknown artist and unknown medium. From that first gallery show Pascal's glass sculptures would be shown in multiple galleries around the world. When one of her collectors requested a large glass sculpture to be installed outdoors, Pascal added a third art medium, stainless steel. She knew glass would crack over time if displayed outdoors, but stainless steel would be able to survive the elements.

Pascal's collectors grew in number, and she became almost as well known for her festive dinner parties as for her art. She would cook her famous pasta sauce and show her latest works of art while the champagne flowed and music played late into the night. Pascal went on to marry James Regan and, when she wasn't in her studio sculpting or painting, the two of them traveled the world together. From Paris to London to Ireland, cruising down the Amazon and through the Panama Canal, visiting the pyramids in Egypt and making multiple trips to Japan, Pascal was inspired by the beauty she saw on her travels. And that inspiration was displayed in her paintings and sculptures. Pascal not only created incredible art that is displayed in museums, private collections and institutions across the Globe, but she created her own unique style. From her tailored men's suits to her inimitable hairstyle inspired on one of her trips to Japan, she was never one to blend in. She loved Oreos and chocolate cake, champagne and caviar, "les girls" lunches, and collecting books on the world's greatest artists.

Over her 107½ years, Pascal was as tough as the glass she carved.

As polished as her stainless steel sculptures.

As colorful as her paintings.

She left a legacy not just of art and family but of what's possible when you live life on your own terms, doing what you love, with the people who inspire and support you.

On September 24, 2021, Pascal was carried on the wings of angels home to Heaven.

She was preceded in death by her husband, James Regan, and a multitude of dear friends who have kept the champagne on ice waiting for her arrival in Heaven.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Office Phone: 724-277-8800

Email: dhs@zoominternet.net

Secretary's Email: myers@zoominternet.net

Secretary's Phone: 724-277-8448

Address: 42 Bridge St., Dunbar, PA 15431

Business Hours:

Friday 10 am to 2 pm

Saturday 10 am to 12 noon

Other Times - Please contact us for an appointment

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