After dominating the sporting art world for decades, the great painter Stanley Meltzoff was an aging doyen by the birth of the new millennium. Always a slow worker, his pace had become even more methodical. When he finally passed away in 2006 at age 89, the sporting press had already moved on to glitzy underwater photography and the type of hard-edge cartoons suitable for t-shirts. Anyway, Meltzoff was a hard act to follow. His detailed compositions and mastery of water and light were simply too complicated.

But that was then and this is now. The art and sporting worlds are both undergoing a rediscovery of Stanley Meltzoff’s amazing talent. The sporting press has scrambled to run retrospective articles, manufacturers are clamoring for Meltzoff licenses, and two new museum exhibitions have just opened featuring Meltzoff’s work. If you’re anywhere in the American northeast over the next few months, you need to take the time to see these. Both are absolutely amazing.

First to open was THE LURE OF THE OCEAN: THE ART OF STANLEY MELTZOFF at the Bruce Museum (www.brucemuseum.org) in Greenwich, CT. This exhibition through June 2nd features more than 30 Meltzoff originals, many from private collections that haven’t seen the light of day in decades.

The other is OCEANLIFE BY STANLEY MELTZOFF at the Hiram Blauvelt Museum (www.blauveltartmuseum.com) in Oradell, N.J. through June 30th. While not so extensive as the Bruce collection, the Blauvelt specializes in premier wildlife art and has more than done justice to Meltzoff’s talented brush. Both exhibitions run well into the spring, so you have plenty of time left.