Local Historic Art On Exhibit

Moravian's Payne Art Gallery always has interesting artwork, but the exhibition currently on display has particular ties and meaning to the Moravian community.

Several weeks ago, the Payne Art Gallery opened its first exhibition of the year:  "Around the Riverbend," which contains scenic artwork centering around the Lehigh Valley and eastern Pennsylvania.  The artwork is from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century and was recently given to the college as a gift.

This past spring, students of the Art History Senior Seminar planned and organized the exhibition and officially opened it on Sept. 22.  This also marks Moravian's first student-curated exhibition.  The students include:

• Leila Chiles '11
• Rudy Garbely '12
• Sarah Roth '12
• Carli Timpson '11
• Ellen Williams '11

Most of the paintings are canvas oil paintings and capture the essence of local landscape in such places as:

• Bethlehem, PA
• Jim Thorpe, PA
• Bushkill Creel
• Lehigh Valley
• Delaware Water Gap
• Allentown, PA
• Lehigh Canal
• Berks County

Gustav Grunewald's "View of the Monacksey Creek at Bethlehem"

John Lewis Kimmel's portrait of "Francis (Daddy) Thomas"

"Around the Riverbend" also features nearly a dozen famous artists, many of whom were from or near the Lehigh Valley, including:

• John E. Berninger:  Berninger lived and worked in Allentown, studied under Walter Emerson Baum (who founded the current Baum School of Art in Allentown), and became the first curator of the Allentown Art Museum.
• Charles Boizard
• De Witt Clinton Boutelle
• Henry E. Brown
• Gustav Grunewald:  Grunewald was the drawing master at Moravian College in 1836 and also painted two murals in Main Hall, which is still used as a dorm by Moravian College today.
• James Hamilton
• John Lewis Kimmel
• Reuben O. Luckenbach:  Luckenbach was born in Bethlehem in 1818, studied under Grunewald at Moravian College, and was an active member of the Moravian Church in Bethlehem.
• John Heyl Raser
• E.W. Stirk
• Cullen Yates

All of the artwork is beautiful and it is even more special since many of the pieces focus on historic Bethlehem and the Lehigh Valley, so I urge you to go and check it out!

Here is everything you need to know:

• Payne Gallery is located on Moravian College's south campus.
• The gallery is open Tuesday-Sunday from 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
• "Around the Riverbend" will be on display from Sept. 22-Oct.30.
• Admission and parking are free.