CANE HILL -- This small community in western Washington County debuted its newest historic facility, The Museum Gallery at Historic Cane Hill, with a unique collection of original paintings celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Arkansas Territory.
The Arkansas Territory Collection Exhibition, commissioned by Heart of America Artists Association in Siloam Springs, is a traveling collection of more than 80 pieces of fine art by artists in nine states.
Arkansas Territory Collection
The Museum Gallery of Historic Cane Hill
14327 Highway 45
10 a.m. — 5 p.m., Wednesday—Saturday
Through June 30
The juried exhibition opened at John Brown University's Windgate Gallery on March 28 and will be set up at multiple locations in Arkansas and Oklahoma for the next two years. The paintings are on sale but any sold pieces cannot be picked up until the end of the two-year show.
Historic Cane Hill was the second stop along the tour, and about 40 people attended a grand opening ceremony for The Museum Gallery, along with an opening reception for the Arkansas Territory exhibition on May 25. The Museum Gallery is located in the historic A.R. Carroll Drugstore building, located next door to Historic Cane Hill Museum.
The Arkansas collection is open, free to the public, through June 30 and then will travel to Historic Arkansas Museum in Little Rock.
Lawrence McElroy, director of arts and culture for Historic Cane Hill, said the paintings in the Arkansas exhibit are unique because artists were given a wide range, as far as subject matter.
"It's based on the Arkansas Territory but they were allowed to interpret that any way they wanted to," McElroy said.
Paintings on display show the people, places and objects from 200 years of the geographical Arkansas Territory, established by Congress on March 2, 1819. The territory included all of Arkansas and most of Oklahoma and lasted until Arkansas achieved statehood in 1836, according to the Oklahoma Historical Society website.
McElroy, who serves on the board of directors for the Heart of America Artists Association, said the exhibition will look a little different at each location because of the way the paintings will be displayed.
McElroy said he hung the artwork with "great thought." Beautiful landscape paintings hang on the back wall. Native American paintings are placed in the same area. One panel has what McElroy describes as colorful, contemporary artwork.
"I think visitors appreciate paintings in the same area where they can see cohesive elements," McElroy said.
Visitors will see a wide variety of "very, very high quality" paintings, McEloy said, adding, "Anyone who goes into it will find something they like."
The collection was judged by Mindy Besaw, curator of American Art at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and Best of Show was awarded to artist Tim Tyler.
The Arkansas collection is the debut exhibition for The Museum Gallery at Historic Cane Hill.
"I think this heralds a new day for Historic Cane Hill," McElroy said. "We will be able to bring in high quality exhibitions in a brand new state-of-the-art gallery. Local artists will have a new venue to exhibit their work and we will continue to expand these opportunities."
Several things had to happen to display the Arkansas collection and turn the historic building into a new museum gallery.
The gallery has a $140,000 insurance policy to protect the Arkansas collection, a state-of-the-art security system and a high quality lighting system. New mobile panels allow the gallery to double its wall capacity for displaying paintings.
"We went through this building top to bottom to make any changes," McElroy said.
Friday, a group from Lincoln Senior Center visited the exhibition and Historic Cane Hill Museum.
Kathy Rankin of Prairie Grove had a favorite painting among the collection. It was a scene from Rush, Ark. Rankin's grandfather was a miner in Rush, though she said he passed away before she could get to know him.
Nancy Overton of Lincoln was visiting Cane Hill for the first time.
"I think it's wonderful," Overton said.
Future plans for The Museum Gallery at Historic Cane Hill include a high school art exhibition for high school age students in Northwest Arkansas and a temporary Smithsonian Poster exhibition. The "big one," McElroy said, will be an exhibition of 19th century pottery with many historic pieces. The pottery exhibition will open in conjunction with Cane Hill Harvest Festival.
General News on 06/12/2019