The Pennsylvania Art Conservatory welcomes summer with a selection of landscape, seascape and harbor motif paintings in a special exhibition titled “Surf & Turf,” which will be on view through July 21. This exhibition includes works from the conservatory’s collection of American and European, Nineteenth and Twentieth Century artists, and is curated by Thom Duffy, director of the Pennsylvania Art Conservatory’s Philadelphia gallery at 1824 Chestnut Street.
Viewers will enjoy a visual tour of the New England Coast with magnificent paintings by Anthony Thieme, Mary Butler and Pearl Van Sciver. The majesty of the sea and surf are beautifully captured by painters Stanley Woodward and William Columbus Ehrig. The American countryside offers a wonderful backdrop for many of the “Turf” paintings. There are several outstanding landscape paintings on view by such noted artists as Herman Gustav Simon, Hermann Herzog and Carl Weber.
One of the most important artists of the Rockport region, Thieme (1888-1954) was a highly celebrated plein aire painter known for his Impressionist paintings of the Cape Ann region and for his contributions to making Rockport a center for artists.
Born in Rotterdam, Holland, Thieme studied in Holland, France and Italy. He immigrated to the United States and established a summer studio in Rockport, on the Cape Ann Peninsula. In 1929, he opened the Thieme School of Art that attracted many artists and established Rockport as an artist’s colony. A retrospective of his work was held at the Rockport Art Association in 1999.
Simon (1846-1895) is best known for his paintings of animals:cows, dogs and deer. He lived in central Pennsylvania, and made aliving from his paintings, often taking commissions for portraitsof local personalities. In addition to painting, Simon cast animalbronzes. He exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Artsfrom 1876 to 1887, as well the Boston Art Club, the NationalAcademy of Design and the Art Institute of Chicago.
Other artists whose work is included in the summer show are George Frederick Bensell, Walter Blackman, Alfred Churchill, Jess Hobby, Frederick John Maulhaupt, Ben Paulekas and others.
The Pennsylvania Art Conservatory has two locations, the Berwyn gallery and restoration studio is at 636 Lancaster Avenue.
For more information, 215-564-2100 (Philadelphia), 610-644-4300 (Berwyn) or www.PAConservatory.com.
