May Issue 2001
Upstairs Gallery in Tryon, NC, Presents Exhibition of Historical View on Tyron Artists
A landmark exhibition of historical and artistic significance opens at the Upstairs Gallery in Tryon, NC, on May 18 and continues through June 23. Tryon Artists, 1892-1942: The First Fifty Years brings together over 100 works of fine art by 30 artists who worked in Tryon between the turn of the century and World War II.
"Tryon is a town that has always attracted creative people," says Michael McCue, one of the show's curators. "During this half a century, which was a remarkable one for visual arts in America, Tryon became a magnet for artists who came from many different places to our mountains."
Some artists represented in the exhibit are Augustus Vincent Tack, Lawrence Mazzanovich, Josephine S. Couper, Homer Ellertson, Amelia Watson, Elliott Daingerfield, Margaret Morley, Lois Wilcox, Gabrielle DeVaux Clements, Louis Rowell, George Aid, William Steene, J. S. Brown, Edward Bennett, Diana Nash and Amelia Van Buren. They came from New England, New York, Chicago and elsewhere. Their works include oil paintings, watercolors, charcoal drawings and etchings as well as photographs and book illustrations.
McCue notes that most of the artists were well trained in art, well traveled and cosmopolitan. While they spent time in Tryon, they were linked to other important cultural centers. "The Tryon artists' colony was quite fluid and diverse," says McCue. "That's why this community did not develop into a recognized esthetic 'school' such as the later, better-known one at Black Mountain College."
Nowell Guffey and Jim Boyle are working with McCue to locate and select the art from numerous private collections and institutions. Guffey is the proprietor of Foothills Fine Art, an art dealership in Tryon. Boyle is a partner in Ryan-Boyle Antiques of Saluda, NC. McCue was the curator of a Mazzanovich exhibit at the Asheville Art Museum.
A handsome hardcover catalog has been produced for the exhibit. The 100-page book containing many color illustrations and biographical essays is a valuable reference for the approximately 50 artists who were associated with Tryon during the era. Much of the information has never been published.
On Sunday, May 20, at 2 p.m., McCue will talk at the Upstairs about the art and artists in the show. Refreshments will be served.
For further information check our NC Institutional Gallery listings or call the gallery at 828/859-2828.
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