New England Contemporary is proud to present a very special collaboration, featuring a limited edition of fine art prints of Traeger di Pietro’s “Like a Lion.” This edition is the result of a serendipitous introduction to Pulitzer Prize winning writer, journalist, and educator, Ms. Connie Schultz, who recently acquired Traeger’s original painting from our East Greenwich, RI gallery.

Connie was inspired by the painting’s message of empowerment, confidence, and strength, especially as it relates to the young girls in our families and communities. These are common threads throughout Traeger’s oeuvre, which found their way into Connie's subsequent uplifting article, “Let’s Roar,” published this January on Substack: https://substack.com/home/post/p-154154566.

So stirring was this article for Connie’s readership, that our gallery was flooded with inquiries about Traeger’s painting and requests for prints. Although Traeger’s practice is usually restricted to originals, we were heartened by the opportunity to help spread the message of “Like a Lion” and decided to offer a limited edition of prints, personally signed and numbered by Traeger. We worked with Brendan McCarthy and his team at Crestar Digital Art Production to produce 100 fine art prints on cold press cotton rag paper, and documented the entire meticulous process from scanning and color correction, to scaling and packaging.

As we publicly offer this opportunity to collect a print of “Like a Lion,” we are additionally delighted to share Traeger’s message with the Girl Scouts of Southeastern New England. In cooperation with CEO Dana Borrelli-Murray, Traeger and New England Contemporary will be donating a print as a silent auction item for their Cookies and Cocktails annual fundraising event this March, along with a percentage of all future sales of the prints. We hope this will contribute to the Girl Scouts’ summer camp this year and inspire them to roar like lions. We are grateful for this opportunity to share, and to Connie for connecting us with Ms. Borrelli-Murray and the Girl Scouts.