I am lucky enough to live in a town with money. Canajoharie in upstate NY, is the home of Beech Nut. The company still does business here and the place smells wonderfully like apple sauce, or sometimes like carrots...depending on what baby food is being done up today! The founding fathers of this town included a certain man named Arkell, who left a fortune of wonderful art with provenance and a lot of money to the town.
Recently, the town has spent a load of cash on the new Arkell Arts Center, which is a glorious addition off of the existing library in Canjo. The gallery owns many masterpieces, Eackins', Hassam, Cassatt, —including several well-known watercolors done by none other than Homer himself. Can you imagine my surprise when I found out that I could see his work up close and personal in this pathetic little sleepy upstate town?? What a cultural advantage for the local folks. They must understand this, as is evident by the expense incurred to build this beautiful building.
The flood hit here pretty badly last summer, and the library had serious problems immediately following. It is great to see flood damage replaced by a pristing building to house our national artwork treasures.
The gallery is nearing completion and the outside is almost finished. The inside looks intriguing and luckily I found these pictures today and took a peek.
I am very excited about this new venue so close to home. Sometime after June it will open, I am not certain of a date at this point.
Someday I want to exhibit here——with any luck....
Winslow Homer
(1836 - 1910)
"On the Battenkill"
Watercolor and Colored Pencil on Paper
(1895)
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