"In 1816, Asa Park, the first trained artist to establish a studio in this region, moved to Lexington and worked as a painter until his untimely death at 37 years of age. At that time, Central Kentucky was a vibrant cultural center where Park competed with local talent to serve a community of dedicated patrons.
Today, Central Kentucky no longer holds that same allure for many professional artists of Park's stature, who studied with John Ritto Penniman (1782-1841) and later with Gilbert Stuart (1755-1828), but collaborations like the one between Georgetown College and the Georgetown & Scott County Museum - as well as a number of local constituents - certainly paints a more attractive picture.
The exhibition
On October 19, the first exhibition solely dedicated to works by Asa Park opened in the Anne Wright Wilson Fine Art Gallery at Georgetown College. Although this exhibition, titled A Bostonian Painter in Kentucky: Asa Park (1790-1827), is the longtime brainchild of former chair James McCormick, the college involved everyone from Sotheby's to the students of a "Careers in Art" class taught by the current chair, Dr. Juilee Decker.
According to Decker, "The students did not curate the exhibition, but were responsible for many aspects of the show, including installation and catalog design." There are 10 students in the course: eight are art majors pursuing degrees in either traditional or digital media or art history, and all are interested in graduate studies, museum professions and teaching.
The Georgetown & Scott County Museum pursued funding for the exhibition and, according to the museum's program coordinator, Andrew Green, "The bulk of the sponsorship came from museum memberships and personal contacts of the museum. We also requested and were awarded grant monies from both Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. and Georgetown/Scott County Tourism Commission."
"It has been shown from previous collaborations between the college and the museum that such exhibitions are of historical consequence and do bring in people from around Kentucky and surrounding states; thus securing funding from the tourism industry made perfect sense," stated McCormick.
Portraits of prominent regional businessmen like James Birney, a successful hemp farmer and major supplier of rope for the U.S. forces in the War of 1812, and John Norton, a local wholesaler of medicines and one of the first investors in the Lexington-Frankfort-Louisville Railroad, are on view through November 30. The main attraction, however, is a full-length portrait of George Washington and his horse. This portrait, commonly referred to as "George and his horse" by the students of the college, is believed to be Park's masterpiece.
Why Georgetown?
Jim McCormick, Chair of the art department from 1960 to 1996, discovered the portrait of George Washington hanging in Giddings Hall near the beginning of his tenure. According to McCormick, the college knew little about the painting's history, until in 1962, a letter surfaced that stated that a series of paintings, books and artifacts were being donated by Rev. G. F. H. Crockett of Lexington. The letter specifically referenced that the 8-foot by 5-foot portrait of George Washington had been "painted by Mr. Park of Lexington, about 30 years ago." From that point forward, McCormick has been researching the project.
McCormick's first hurdle was to restore the painting to stable condition, as it had been badly damaged by a fire at the college in 1930. He successfully raised over $20,000 for the restoration, which was completed by Lexington art conservator, John Steinrock. Steinrock also designed a frame appropriate for the period of the painting.
According to cultural historian Estill Curtis Pennington, "The portrait of Washington places Park in the first rank of early Kentucky portraitists - it is one of the finest paintings to be found in a public collection in the Commonwealth."
On Sunday, October 22, at 2 p.m., the college will host a lecture by Pennington titled, "The Larger World of Asa Park, Portrait Painter." A native of Kentucky, Pennington is the author of several articles and exhibition catalogs dealing with Southern art.
While securing the respect, confidence and commitment of professionals from the larger arts community is essential for Central Kentucky, working together to acknowledge our unique history and educate and encourage our own local talent will enable us to complete a vital exercise - the painting of our own self-portrait. This unique collaboration has brought together many of those elements, and Georgetown College and the Scott County & Georgetown Museum should be highly commended for their efforts.
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