(Sherburne, NY – June 2015 On Friday, June 12, at 7 p.m., art historian Dr. Christine I. Oaklander will give a presentation at the Sherburne Public Library on Sherburne artist Henry Grant Plumb (1847-1930): Rediscovered Master of Arts and Letters.
In April 2014, Oaklander stumbled across a large portion of Plumb’s estate at a paper show in Allentown, PA. The cache included such treasures as Plumb’s palette, paint box, studio sign, diaries, and illustrated letters. Oaklander’s talk will chronicle the path toward organizing the first scholarly exhibition devoted to this talented and humorous artist.
Plumb had a long and successful career in New York City, where he moved in 1863 to enter the print trade. His boyhood drawings showed considerable talent, and he was probably influenced by Sherburne’s other artist of note, Tompkins H. Matteson, a close associate of Plumb’s father. Plumb was one of very few Americans to matriculate from the internationally famous École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he studied in the mid-1870s with Jean-Léon Gérôme, one of the most famous artists of the time.
Examples of Plumb’s art will be available for inspection and purchase at the Sherburne Arts Festival on Saturday, June 13, at Gaines Park on East State Street, next to the Sherburne Public Library. The festival will also feature a special exhibit of Plumb’s paintings, on loan for the occasion by several local people who own his works.
To attend the lecture, please RSVP to 607-674-2279, as space is limited. The Arts Festival the following day will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free to both events, and the library is wheelchair accessible.