When Scott Prior walked into the Cahoon Museum of American Art in Cotuit, he said it was a “very emotional experience — after such a difficult year — to look back” over five decades of his life’s work. “They did a spectacular job hanging the pieces” — some 35 of his Cape Cod related paintings, prints and drawings in his long overdue first solo exhibition on the Cape. (His work has appeared in over 100 exhibitions and hangs in at least two dozen museums and private collections).

He calls himself a realist, eschewing other labels. “There are always movements in art history.” Some follow the trends, and “some artists do their own thing and eventually come back into fashion.” Like Wyeth, who was so dissed for his realism only to be “rediscovered” recently. Prior said an artist should “be who you are in the time you are in and try to be honest.”