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16/10/2007 12:20 pm
Our 6th annual "Fall Into Art" exhibit at the Howard Steamboat Museum will feature Harlan Hubbard: The River's Artist. The exhibition opens with a reception on Sunday, November 4th at 2:30 PM and includes a presentation by Flo and Bill Caddell on "Watercolors of the Ohio River Valley".
On Sunday November 11th there will be a panel discussion with audience participation of "Reminiscences". On the following Sunday (November 18th) Estill Curtis Pennington, a fine art consultant and expert on art in the South, will give a presentation. All programs are at 2:30 PM.
The exhibit and presentations are free and open to the public during regular museum hours. Tours of the mansion are available at the regular admission fee. Additional information is available on the museum website at www.steamboatmuseum.org.
Rarely seen Hubbard works, many from private collectors, are included in the exhibit, including this view of the Str. BELLE OF LOUISVILLE, from the Capt. C.W. Stoll Collection, which depicts the boat passing Payne Hollow as C.W. serenades Harlan and Anna Hubbard on the Belle's calliope.
Please join us for this fascinating display of art works from one of the river's most notable personalities.
18/10/2007 3:15 am
Annie Blum here. O how I wish that I could make it to Louisville three Sundays in a row. If ever there was a couple that fascinates me, it is the Hubbards. There is something about their talents and their way of life that is enticing.
18/10/2007 1:14 pm
Harlan and Anna
This is one exhibit that shouldn't be missed. Harlan's books, Shanyboat, Payne Hollow, Shantyboat on the Bayous, Harlan Hubbard Journals, 1929-1944 can be read, and reread, and there is always something fresh and new to be discovered with each reading. Reading one, or more, before visiting the exhibit will make the art experience all the more worthwhile.
That is an interesting painting of the BELLE and the small boat with the couple enjoying the river and the excitement of the steamboat, calliope, steam whistles, and all. Most fascinating is the rendering of the outboard motor on the little boat. Harlan abhorred such devices, but I imagine he visualized the couple coming from the campground across the river to get a closer look at all the action owning one, and by doing so, adding to the event themselves.
Also note-worthy is the perspective of the painting as imagined through the eyes of the artist as seen from the Indiana shore below Hanover College, but supposedly, he was on the Kentucky shore, standing with his bride on the riverbank below their home nestled in the trees in Payne Hollow, enjoying the spectacle of the steamboat salute given in their honor.
What an experience it is to visit their home in Payne Hollow. I have been there twice: the first, in 1978, arriving on the sternwheeler WINIFRED when the Hubbards were living, and the last time, two summers ago, when Pegan, Buster, and I hiked down the rough trail to the Hubbard's home. I definitely prefer arrival the boat-way than by the overland route.
http://groups.msn.com/WillieandBustersWhirlwindTouroftheWorld/realshantyboatfolks.msnw
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18/10/2007 1:52 pm
Indeed, the Hubbard's were wonderful people and always fascinating to visit. I especially remember the time they were the featured speakers for a meeting of the Middle Ohio River Chapter of S&D, held at Madison, in the 1970's. It was spring and the Ohio was high with a stiff current running. Nonetheless, Harlan and Anna rowed across the river and were picked up and driven to the Clifty Inn to present the program. Capt. C.W. Stoll had a "fit" when he learned that they planned to row back across in the pitch black darkness after the meeting. It was no big deal to Harlan who quietly said, "Well, we have a lantern!" I also recall Anna saying, "Harlan won't let anything happen to us." Despite their protests, C.W. insisted that they stay overnight at the hotel and paid for their room and breakfast. Harlan and Anna's intriguing presentation, followed by a question and answer session, kept everybody spellbound as they told of their "life on the fringe of society".
There is a fine website, www.HarlanHubbard.com which contains photos of many of Harlan's paintings and interesting information.
Harlan's wonderful books and prints of his paintings of the Str. QUEEN CITY, a shantyboat scene and several others are available for purchase in the Howard Steamboat Museum gift shop.
18/10/2007 8:17 pm
I remember that outboard motor well. . .very well, indeed! Harlan came to get us at Saluda Landing. The motor took us out about fifty yards and quit. I shipped up the oars, but Harlan would not hear of his guest rowing. After about twenty pulls the motor came to life and propelled us another hundred yards, then laid down and died. I kept the oars at the ready. More yanking ensued and, finally, the stupid thing took us the rest of the way.
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05/11/2007 5:14 pm
There was a BIG turnout yesterday for the opening and reception of the art exhibition, "Harlan Hubbard, The River's Artist" at the museum. Bill and Flo Caddell's presentation was given to an appreciative crowd in the carriage house. A PBS video presentation about the Hubbard's ran continuously in the new reception area on the recently renovated back porch of the mansion, and a lavish spread of delectable goodies, including apple cider and various wines, was served in the dining room. Jo Ann Schoen set up a strategic post near the door and got many signatures on her SAVE THE DELTA QUEEN petitions. The beautiful exhibition poster, catalog, prints of selected Hubbard works, and books were selling like hotcakes in the gift shop.
Sunday's Courier-Journal ran a big article in the Art section about the exhibit, featuring a large color photo of the 1968 painting of the Str. BELLE OF LOUISVILLE passing Payne Hollow, from the collection of the late Capt. C.W. Stoll. The exhibition consists of 56 works, many borrowed from private collectors, and includes a model of the shantyboat upon which the Hubbard's lived and journeyed to New Orleans, as well as a large plaster bust of Harlan, lent by the Behringer-Crawford Museum in Covington.
Next Sunday (November 11th) the program at 2:30 will feature "Reminiscences" and various persons will share memories of Harlan and Anna. The exhibit is free and the final day to view the collection will be Sunday, November 25th.
Warren and Julie Payne, curators of the exhibit, have done another excellent job for our annual "Fall Into Art". Please come by if you can and enjoy this rare and fascinating display with us!