Curator’s Corner: Frank Sherrill
You may remember Frank Sherrill, an artist we highlighted in a previous Curator's Corner, which can be seen here, https://www.blowingrockmuseum.org/athome/curators-corner-all-about-sir-brahm.
Frank Sherrill was one of many artists who lived in an area off of Highway 221 in Blowing Rock known as Artist's Alley. This Asheville newspaper clipping from 1956 shows a photograph of Sherrill's partner, artist Philip Moose (center), surrounded by other artists (several from Artist's Alley) who stayed in Blowing Rock and participated in the Blowing Rock Art Association's annual summer exhibition... including (surprise!) our cowboy, Louis Lundean, who can be seen sitting to the far left!
(On another fun note, did you know the local Blowing Rock Library used to hold these annual art exhibitions?)
Like many artistic communities, Blowing Rock's was small and close-knit. (So many connections!) Louis and his wife, sculptor Marjorie Daingerfield, both helped manage the Blowing Rock Art Association. Not only did they participate in the annual show as exhibiting artists, but they each at one time held the position of President of the organization.
Interestingly, as the newspaper clipping states, Louis received an award for a portrait that he painted, rather than for one of his more well-known images of a horse or horseback rider. Marjorie, who saw his work evolve over the years of their marriage, was often recognized as the one who could capture a keen likeness of the human face. Yet, at some point, she did say in a letter to her sister, Gwendolyn, that Louis' own ability to depict an individuals' face had greatly improved over the years that they were together. Despite their work being very different, maybe you could say they had a strong influence over one another as artists?
Extending their cultural influence, Marjorie and Louis also continued Elliott Daingerfield's summer practice of instructing art classes in town. Every summer, they'd each teach art students who traveled to Blowing Rock, as well as locals in the area. Marjorie's father, Elliott, began bringing art students to Blowing Rock as early as the late 1800s (and they were all female artists, which Marjorie referred to as the "Painting Ladies"). Blowing Rock and the surrounding region has been and continues to be a unique hub for arts and culture today!
Interested in learning more about our current exhibition, "Marjorie & Louis?" Visit our website, https://www.blowingrockmuseum.org/see/marjorie-louis.
Image Credit: Newspaper clipping, photograph showing exhibiting artists of the Blowing Rock Art Association, Blowing Rock, NC. Asheville Citizen-Times, Asheville, NC. August 26, 1956. Private collection.
Learn more about "Marjorie & Louis" here