The exhibition, “A Tribute to Polly Wood,” continues through July 3, David E. Rodale and Rodale Family Galleries, with a memorial reception, 6-8 p.m. June 20, The Baum School of Art, as part of Allentown’s “Third Thursday” events.

Wood, born in Allentown in 1946, was a prolific Lehigh Valley-based artist and passionate arts advocate. As a long-time friend of The Baum School of Art, she was on the school’s board of trustees in the 1980s. Wood was also involved with The Lehigh Art Alliance, Open Space Gallery, and area arts advisory committees. Her art was exhibited nationally and internationally. She died in 2016 after battling cancer.

Baum School of Art Executive Director Shannon Fugate said Wood’s son Jonas contacted Baum to arrange the exhibition.

Wood donated “Opera Singer Turn of the Century Vienna” (pastel and ink; 40.5 in. x 27.5 in.) to the Baum School to commemorate the death of Baum Executive Director Rudy Ackerman in 2015. The painting is from Wood’s “Ordinary Women Series.”

According to Fugate, Wood said, “I paint ordinary women because no woman is ordinary.”

Pam Dent, who is on the Baum School board, and her husband, former congressman Charlie Dent, have been collecting Wood’s work for many years.

“She was a dear family friend of the Dent family,” said Pam Dent, adding, “But, especially a friend of Charlie’s uncle, the late Charles C. Dent, who was also an artist like Polly, and a collector like Polly.” Charles C. Dent, also a trustee of the Baum School, had mentored Wood.

“As an artist, she celebrates the female figure. She celebrates women, female empowerment,” said Pam Dent.

Some of the works in the exhibit are from the Dents’ collection, including “Untitled,” an ink and pastel portrait of a graceful young woman from another era pensively nodding her head.

Pam Dent’s favorite memories of Polly Wood are their road trips to Adamstown, Lancaster County, for art and antiques “to see what treasure we might find that day,” she said with a smile

Some of Wood’s art depicts strong women in angst, such as “Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered” from the “Ordinary Women Series.” The figure’s face is green and expresses annoyance, yet it appears there is a tear forming in one eye.

Wood rendered her feminine subjects in oil, pastel, ink and gouache. She would start by drawing a grid as a guide. She sometimes deliberately left parts of the grid exposed.

There are several three-dimensional pieces in the Wood exhibition, including “Baby Hava,” a metal sound sculpture she created in collaboration with Val Bertoia.

“I have always viewed my work as important, not just as a reflection of personal experiences, but on a larger collective scale that speaks to all. After all, the human experience is universal,” Polly Wood had said. “My work reflects life on a more emotional plan and it is my intent to express these emotions in a visual form.”

The exhibit is sponsored by Stout Associates, LLC.

Baum School of Art Gallery hours: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday - Friday, Closed Saturday and Sunday. baumschool.org; 610-433-0032