A legacy of Andrew Carnegie

So happy to announce that this:

Michigan Orange Frost–Oil on Canvas

will be going here:

Carnegie Center for the Arts, Three Rivers, Michigan

The Carnegie Center for the Arts sponsors a regional juried show which has accepted one of my Michigan Orange series paintings. I’m especially happy about this because the building itself is just so perfect for art display! The building was originally the town library, which owes its existence to the famous generosity of Andrew Carnegie. What is even more amazing is that a town of some 7500 residents managed to save the building in 1978 after it was damaged by a fire in a building next door and a broken water main.

Here are the amazing details from their website:

The building was renamed The Carnegie Center for the Arts, and held its official grand opening on April 27, 1980, showcasing art work from the children of St. Joseph County. Since this time, the Carnegie Center’s programming has grown to include a variety of programs for children and adults.

In 1992, the two adjacent buildings forming the corner on Portage and Main St. were donated to the center. Fund raising began in December 1995, and in July 1996, the campaign goal of $750,000 had been reached thanks to the generosity of many businesses and individual contributors. Construction and renovation began in November 1996 to join the three buildings.

The completed Carnegie Art Center featured its first exhibit in the W.R. Monroe Museum in June 1997. Now, the Carnegie Center for the Arts hosts a variety of art exhibits and is a venue for the Carnegie Concert Series.

The interior of the three connected buildings is beautifully lit, even on Michigan’s many dark cloudy days. The exhibit will be on view through mid-February, and I will be attending the opening reception and hope to have some beautiful photos to share. One thing I particularly liked about this competition is that the jurying was done from the actual work, not digital images. So when I dropped off my painting ahead of the jury date I got a preview of what the other entries were and am happy to report that this can’t help but be a quality show. Hope Andrew would have been proud…