The Bristol Art Museum is displaying a collection of artwork created by the late Fall River native artist Peter Strickman, ‘Reflections of an Inner Life,’ through Saturday, July 20. Strickman, who passed away in 2017, was an artist whose work encompassed the poetry of both the natural and spiritual worlds.

Strickman had numerous exhibitions and sold many works. However, at the age of thirty, he withdrew to an inner life, leaving “painting and color behind,” as he wrote, following a diagnosis of schizophrenia when he was in his early 20’s. His sister Bonnie Strickman, who maintains his legacy and collection of artworks, speculates that the medicine he needed to treat his condition impacted his ability to create visual art.

“Peter was a really talented, unique human,” said Bonnie. “He was really brilliant.”

Strickman never finished high school, but he went to Marlborough college in Vermont and a teacher of his, Frank Stout, became his mentor. He painted prolifically in oils before the age of 30 and then in ink on stretched cloth for about 15 years. After he stopped painting he became extremely immersed in religion, and, according to Bonnie he wrote prolifically about spiritual matters.

“He had this need to be creatively expressive,” she said. “He was always kind and sweet; he lived fully. My mother always used to say that he had a very active inner life.”

“Strickman’s joyful landscapes are often a blur of verdant foliage and azure waterways,” reflected guest curator Nancy Whipple Grinnell, Curator Emerita of the Newport Art Museum. “A darker mood emerges in the artist’s still life and figurative paintings. Inspired by the teachings of Zen Buddhism, he created a body of lyrical ink drawings.”

As he grew older, Strickman had no interest in his own art, and his sizable collection languished, first in the basement of a friend’s family home in Newport, and later in Bonnie’s care. Though Grinell has included a couple of Strickman’s works in Newport Art Museum exhibits in the past, this is Bonnie’s first effort at sharing Peter’s work with a larger audience, and she is very happy to have connected with the Bristol Art Museum and Curator Mary Dondero.

“It’s been perfect,” said Bonnie. “I want them to get out in the world and this feels like the right place. People have been so supportive — I couldn’t ask for more.”

The exhibit, on display at The Bristol Art Museum, 10 Wardwell St., is on view Thursdays through Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. until Sat. July 20.

An informal conversation about Strickman and his work will be held with Bonnie, Grinnell, and another guest curator on Sunday, July 14. For more information, visit Bristolartmuseum.org.