Annual Arts & Antique Guide 2018

2018

Arts & Antique GUIDE

Painting Bucks For Print Artist Glenn Harrington tells us how he paints Bucks

County scenes and people and uses them for classic

book covers, book illustrations, and even a wine label

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By Glenn Harrington

lmost everyone I've met in my 30 years of residing in Bucks County beams like a child when prompted to talk about the beauty and history of our region. Our inspiring countryside has set a bucolic stage for countless writers, gardeners, musicians and painters, and I've often drawn from this vibrant palette when painting for the publishing world. I've been featuring our local landscapes, waterways, and colorful people for decades in my work (sometimes clandestinely). For example, I painted Daniel Garber's Cuttalossa grape arbor for Gallo Wines and Upper Black Eddy’s towering shale cliffs for Zane Grey's novel George Washington Frontiersman. I also used a Lumberville interior as the setting for George Bernard Shaw's Man and Superman. Bucks County people were used for My America and Matt, Tom Sawyer, a W.B. Yeats book of poetry, and I even used the Doylestown Santa Clause as the ruddy-nosed front man for a Texas wine label.

I've met more interesting people while strolling down my obscure little dirt road here in Bucks County than I ever met while out walking in New

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York City. I’ve met pilots, doctors, artists, bikers, hikers, adventurers, GPS-lost drivers, and the director of a national gallery I had hoped one day to join (and eventually did!). It's the same narrow, beech-lined road that historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. navigated on his way to a martini and a burger with my neighbor Fred Israel when they collaborated on books. It’s the dusty trail that humorist S.J. Perelman trekked to show his friend a home for sale in the 1970s. (The friend didn't buy it, but the man in the back seat did-my friend Fred, an accomplished historian who wrote books on presidents, had an audience with the Pope, managed the Gallop Poll for decades and wrote for President Ronald Regan's radio show; Fred bought his home after republishing the 1897 Sears and Roebuck Catalogue for which S.J. Perelman wrote the introduction.

Fred's magnificent stone home was the Manor House on our country road. Built in 1827, it's a classic Bucks County estate that master masons built from local shale and argillite. Inside the house was an enormous fireplace with inset pine side drawers, racks for antique rifles above the mantle and an adornment of early-American political flags (later entrusted to the Smithsonian institution).

Henry V: The rider portrayed is the book’s editor David Kastan, Sterling Publishing 2001.

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Above, In Silas Marner is Isabella in front of neighbor’s Piperville fireplace. Young George Washington is placed on the Delaware Canal with icy cliffs of Upper Black Eddy in background. Tom Sawyer cover has boys assembled on Glenn Harrington’ s lawn and the raft is made from a treehouse and floated on the Delaware. On Yeats book is actor friend, Bill Meisle.

I was instantly visited by thoughts of that fireplace when New Library Books asked me to paint the cover for George Elliott's Silas Marner. A friend's daughter came to mind when I scouted for a child to pose in front of the hearth. (Her dad, Dave, was, after all, the model for Captain Morgan, the famed rum picaroon. You'll see his colossal figure at Super Bowls and celebrated rum events around the world.) Dave's young daughter Isabella was perfect the Silas Marner part. He cradled her like a kitten into Fred's home, craning and dropping her into position in front of the fireplace. At first I couldn't cajole Isabella to cooperate in our little classic scheme. To sway her, I took from my pocket one of my son's mud-covered army-green toy soldiers. I snapped pictures while she waged a silent war in miniature on the carpet. (I painted out the soiled plastic soldier in the 92

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final painting.) Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice followed shortly thereafter. erb Ward was descended from the Montgomery Ward retail fortune and owned the Black Bass Hotel in Lumberville. The establishment had been a notorious Tory hangout during the Revolutionary War. Herb kept up the Brit influence by filling the 1700sera inn with English tins, china, decorative enameled boxes, plates and figurines, many bearing the Queen's image. He donated the collection to the Queen at the end of his life. Bantam Books, in tandem with BBC productions, hired me to paint the covers for a series of classic books-on-tape performed by top British actors. Recalling a period fireplace at the Black Bass,

Above, Glenn concealed the names of my sons, Evan and Sean, in his painting of Tarzan for Disney Publishing. Right, Rachael from Doylestown is posing as Queen Mob in Shakespeare’s Mid Summer Night’s Dream.

Herb's historic stage came to mind for Pride and Prejudice. I hired my friend, Janelle, to model as Lizzy, rented a dress from Tony at Cargill’s Costumes, and paddled down River Road to meet with Herb, who was a delight to talk with. He told engaging stories as he ascended the inn's carpeted stairs, perching halfway up and spilling his slight frame over the banister while he sang stories of a Metropolitan Opera star, of Angela Lansbury, and a host of Black Bass Hall of Famers who frequented the Inn over the years. After Herb died, I attended a luncheon in his honor and presented his portrait to a group of his closest friends. All had been benefactors of his largess throughout their lives. The portrait hung in the inn for many years.

D.H. Lawrence's ground-breaking classic novel Women in Love was next. At the time, I had begun a series of local sycamore-tree paintings, joined a gallery in Manhattan, and sent them one to display. ”We don't sell tree paintings here in the city, but we'll give it a try,” came the response. It sold in a week.

I revisited the sycamore scene on the Delaware River for Woman in Love. Bantam approved the finished painting, but asked that I add a couple canoodling in the shrubs. But where to find a couple willing to pose under such conditions? So it was that in the middle of a frigid February, with the snow still crusty

in my Tinicum yard, I suggested to my wife that we don bathing suits and pose for the parts ourselves. She disappeared. I pleaded through the locked bedroom door that if she'd just comply with my chilly proposition; the income might magically transform our drab lentil-soup dinners into juicy rib-eye steaks.

Grudgingly, but interested in the steaks, she timidly emerged in her bathing suit. We posed in the brittle shrubs, defrosted, and were on rib eyes for a month.

Disney Publishing saw the same Delaware River sycamore painting I'd sold in Manhattan, and asked if I'd paint Tarzan in the same style for their children's book. Eight months and 40 paintings later, I staggered from my studio wild-haired and exhausted, and we were back on the rib-eye steaks for months.

With Tarzan, I challenged myself in the manner of Al Hirschfeld, the Broadway artist who'd hidden the name of his daughter, Nina, in all of his theater drawings. I concealed the names of my sons, Evan and Sean, in many of the paintings (Mom was reserved for the title page). Disney never noticed (not a word, please).

Book covers in the BBC series continued with Room with a View, Wuthering Heights, Dangerous Liaisons, and Mansfield Park.

The cover of Henry James' The Golden Bowl is graced with a likeFA L L

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ness of my friend Janelle, who once ran a Doylestown dance studio, and whose graceful beauty appeared again on the cover of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina.

Lentil soup was back on the menu while I spent most of the next year illustrating William Shakespeare, Poetry for Young People for Sterling Publishing.

Excerpts from many of Shakespeare's various plays and sonnets were chosen by Editor David Scott Kastan, professor of English at Yale University, and co-edited by his 13-year-old daughter, Marina. I read most all of Shakespeare's plays and sonnets before starting the sketches, and fell in love with his work (though I must admit to resorting to Shakespeare for Dummies when printing deadlines pressed.) I employed petite local ballet beauties, the Fehrs sisters, to decorate the paintings with sprites, fairies and dryads, dressing them in diaphanous fabrics and casting them in the parts of Queen Mab, Puck and Ariel as they floated across my summer lawn. With scent of a rib eye, I even lured my wife Christine out of retirement and onto the stage for a cameo as Portia in the Merchant of Venice.

That popular children's book has been translated and reproduced in many languages around the world, and is still in print all these years later. Two of the original paintings were purchased by a local Bucks County screenwriter who wrote the films Mona Lisa's Smile, Flicker, and Planet of the Apes.

But of all the local people that I've painted for publication, perhaps the most colorful and well recognized was a man from Doylestown named Al. When a Texas winery first contacted me about creating a wine label for their Classic Christmas Vintage, I had to admit I didn't know much about Texas wines (and still don't). “Santa as sommelier,” they requested, “tipping and sniffing at a glass of wine.” On a November day, purely by chance, I entered Tinicum Park for a Saturday festival, and saw the top of a Santa Clause hat moving in the distant crowd. I rushed home for camera and a 94

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wine glass. When I returned, Al was lowering himself into his tiny Ford. I asked if I could snap his picture before he sledded off. Reluctantly, he reemerged. Pushing my luck, I asked if he wouldn't mind posing with a wine glass in his mitten.

“Sure,” he said. “What's this for?”

I employed petite local

ballet beauties, the Fehrs sisters, to decorate the paintings with sprites, fairies and dryads, dressing them in diaphanous fabrics and casting them in the parts of Queen Mab, Puck and Ariel as they floated across my summer lawn.

I told him that it was to be reference for a Santa painting, that he would be featured on a wine label. He lifted the empty glass, squinted into the sun and stated, “Five bucks!”

I laughed. “Five bucks, that's my commission,” he said.

But Al was serious. I searched my pockets while he offered that he had been the Doylestown Santa for many years, and that each year he had gotten a cold for Christmas—and was through with the job! I handed him a crumpled five.

A few years later, after Al had passed, my local gallery told me Al's daughter had been in and seen her father's portrait. She studied the painting with tears in her eyes, realizing the sniffling, tippling Santa was indeed her dad.

GLENN HARRINGTON’S WORK CAN BE VIEWED HIS ART FOR PRINT PAINTINGS WILL BE EXHIBITED FOR SALE IN NOVEMBER AT THE SILVERMAN GALLERY IN BUCKINGHAM SILVERMANGALLERY.COM.

AT GLENNHARRINGTON.COM.

arts & antiques guide

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THE PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART CRAFT SHOW

he Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show highlights the very best in contemporary craft and design.This year, 195 craft artists from 30 states will participate in the Show held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Show dates are November 2-4, 2018 with a Preview Party on November 1. In addition, twenty-six artists from Germany will participate in the Guest Artist Program and our University Program will showcase work by students and recent alumni from four universities. Meet the artists and hear firsthand how they create works in fiber, glass, metal, wood and clay. Work is available for sale.Produced by The Women’s Committee of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, this annual juried Craft Show is a fundraiser for the Museum. Over the last 41 years more than $12.5 million in proceeds went to the Museum. “I am excited for our 42nd Craft Show and this year’s selected artists,” said Michele Brotman, 2018 Craft Show Chair. “I look forward to welcoming all the artists to Philadelphia, especially the 37 artists who are exhibiting for the first time.”The Show dates and hours are Friday, November 2 (11am-9pm), Saturday, November 3 (10 a.m.–6 p.m.), Saturday, November 3 (10 a.m.–6 p.m.), Sunday, November 4 (10 a.m.-5 p.m.). Friday through Sunday, admission is $20 for a one-day pass or $25 for a two-day pass. For more information and to purchase tickets, call 215-6847930 or visit www.pmacraftshow.org/about-the-show.

CHASING NEW HORIZONS

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l Lachman’s national legacy is on full view at the Lachman Gallery’s Aannual Fall Exhibition.

The visceral magic of Al Lachman’s paintings has been enchanting collectors around the nation for 64 years. His unprecedented mastery of color is poured (sometimes directly) into each of his works, which capture his abstract impression of everything from midwestern crop fields to our very own Bucks County barns. Lachman’s most recent body of work, on view in “Chasing New Horizons,” is a triumphant expansion on his signature style. Over the entirety of his career, Lachman’s work has been rooted in three fundamental principles—light, shape, and most importantly color. Together, these intrinsic attributes weave a tapestry of emotion that transport the viewer into Lachman’s world. A piece like “Man Finding His Place in a Chaotic World” uses 52 colors and two mediums to capture a climactic moment of both tension and tranquility. Each time is different for Lachman, no painting is approached the same way, and yet after six decades his work is still evolving and soaring to new heights. His annual exhibition is one not to be missed during Bucks County’s fall season. The Lachman Gallery is located at Peddler's Village-Shop#44, Routes 202 & 263, Lahaska, PA. For more information, call 215-794-5500 or visit www.lachmanstudios.com.

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arts & antiques guide

HOLIDAY SMALL WORKS SHOW

Frame-Crafts anal Gallery is showcasing over 35 artists in their Annual Holiday Small Works Show starting with a reception on Sunday November 4 from 1PM-4PM. “Heading Home�, an acrylic painting by James Redding, is just one of the many fine pieces in the show which includes a variety of styles and mediums but are all smaller in scale. Works will change throughout the show which continues through the end of the year. Canal Frame-Crafts Gallery is located at 1093 General Greene Rd. in Washington Crossing, PA 18977. For more information, call 215-493-3660 or visit www.CanalFrame.com.

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arts & antiques guide

FRAMING MADE SIMPLE

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t the Frame Game framing is a simple four step project. Step 1: Bring in a piece of art, memento, accomplishment, or photograph (or come in and find something through our catalogs) Step 2: One of our expert team members will advise you on matting, frames and glass options. Step 3: Decide whether or not you want to Do-It-Yourself Step 4: Hang it and Enjoy! (We can help with hanging). If you choose to do-it-yourself, Frame Game is a complete custom frame shop that gives you the option of doing the framing yourself. We'll set you up and guide you through the framing process step by step. With all the creative options still available to you, a half hour per picture is all you'll likely need. Karen Stark owner of Frame Game can personalize your home or work spaces. She specializes in conversation framing of valuable keepsakes, mementos, and artwork. They stock hundreds of mouldings and mattings an offer an extensive selection of special order and matboards. The shop is also filled with many unique gift items, home accessories and artwork. There are two locations, one in Yardley and the other in Newtown, PA; 215-860-8727; www.theframegame.com.

Dog House Antiques “Antiques with Attitude”

Dog House Antiques offers a wide variet of Antiques, f r it re, architect ral pieces, garden appoint ents, ar , taxider y and more!

Home • Garden • Art • Antiques

6126 Lower York Road, New Hope, PA 215.262.3058 or 908-635-2876 DogHouseAntiquesNewHope@gmail.com

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arts & antiques guide ANTIQUES AT THE DOG HOUSE

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og House Antiques will surprise and fascinate you. Outside the well-staged building is an area filled with a wide variety antiques, furniture, architectural pieces, garden appointments, art, taxidermy and more. Owners Mark Higgins and Linda Kane have recently opened in their new Bucks County location and already there is a buzz. Mark, a longtime resident of Bucks County, has owned several businesses locally, beginning with his first venture, a stained glass studio, which he opened in downtown, New Hope, after graduating from Kutztown University with a Bachelors of Fine Arts. He is active in supporting the arts in New Hope, including being on the board of New Hope Arts Commission. Linda is a retired software executive. She spent her career managing a global client services organization for State Street Bank. In 2017 Mark and Linda joined forces to open Dog House Antiques. The combination of Mark’s creativity and Linda’s business experience has resulted in a unique and interesting antique store that has quickly become a must visit destination for tourists and locals. Stop by to see their bold array of antiques, statement pieces and garden appointments. Dog House Antiques is located at 6126 Lower York Road, New Hope, PA. For more information, call 215-262-3058 or 908-635-2876 or send an email to DogHouseAntiquesNewHope@gmail.com.

Best of France Antiques

Frank Arcuri - Solo Exhibition Opening Reception October 20 5 - 8 pm

A large collection of 19th century European antiques, as well as urns, benches, gates, fountains, and statues for the garden.

Furniture Repair • Restoration Moving Antiques • Estate Buyouts

A percent of proceeds from free-cleanouts of your unwanted furnishing will benefit

Located in Bucks County, PA, the Best of France Antiques is your place for all of your antique needs. Open daily 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

3686 Route 202, Mechanicsville, PA 18934 215-345-4253 • info@bestoffranceantiques.com 98

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Calligraphy II, 8" x 10" oil by Frank Arcuri

47 West State Street, Doylestown, PA 215-348-1728 www.PatriciaHuttonGalleries.com

arts & antiques guide

NEW MERCHANDISE ON A DAILY BASIS

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ant a dry sink, an old-fashioned jewelry box?

Makefield Collection of Antiques and Art is a group of shops, which sell everything, including collectibles, antiques, depression glass, old toys, antique furniture and handcrafted reproduction furniture. Makefield Collection of Antiques & Art has over 7,000 square feet and 50 plus vendors where you will find a charming atmosphere and see many fine antiques and vintage items. With new merchandise arriving on a daily basis you'll be sure to find something of interest. The Makefield Collection of Antiques and Art is located at 761 Durham Rd, Pineville, PA 18946; 215-598-8830.

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NEW SHOP OLD SOULS

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new antique shop in Quakertown that is for Old Souls.

Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the name of the amazing shop. Old Soul Antiques had its grand opening celebration in June. Owner Jason Moffet says heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been collecting since he was very young and has always had a passion for things that were old. His shop has many interesting antiques, collectibles, books and an art gallery. And, while Jason continues to add to his collection he has shops inside that he rents and still has few spaces left. Stop in Old Soul Antiques at 141 E. Broad St., Quakertown, PA; 267-500-2134.

DUNNGEON ANTIQUES

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n intriguing store nestled in the Quakertown Antique District offering tin signs, furniture, Lionel Trains, mirrors, pocket watches, jewelry, vintage military, vintage clothing, western boots, and free upholstery estimates. Located at 132 East Broad Street, Quakertown, PA 18951. Contact them at 267-4909507 or dunngeonantiques@yahoo.com.

arts & antiques guide

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Antique Allure

6000 sq ft with over twenty dealers offering an array of antiques including furniture, primitives and one of the areas largest selections of gas, soda and oil advertising.

Open Mon, Wed, Thur, Sun 11-5, Sat 10-6. Closed on Tue.

614 Second Street Pike Southampton, PA 18966 215-323-5868 cell 215-275-8169

Garden Decor Home Decor Fireplace Mantels French Doors Fluted Columns Stained Glass

ANNIVERSAR ARY SALE October 4th, 5th & 6th.

The Village Barn, Rt. 263 & Edisonâ&#x20AC;&#x2C6;Furlong Rd., Furlong, PA PA 215-794-8790 â&#x20AC;˘ www.ArtefactAntiques.com FA L L

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ANTIQUES FROM FRANCE AND BEYOND

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ocated in historic Bucks County, Pennsylvania, the Best of France Antiques offers a large collection of 19th century French Antiques from light fixtures to furniture and plaques. Along with our French pieces, we also have antiques from other parts of the world including Italy, Germany and England.You find outdoor garden sculptures, urns, benches, gates, fountains and more. Also, their expert craftsmen offer furniture repair and restoration. They help with complete residential moves anywhere in the US. Best of France Antiques, 3686 Route 202, Mechanicsville, PA. Call them at 215-345-4253 or be sure to stop by or go to www.bestoffranceantiques.com.

Business Guide Listings

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ANOTHER TIME ANTIQUES 301 Mill Street Bristol, PA 215-788-3131 www.anothertimeantiques.biz Another Time Antiques buys and sells antiques, art, furniture and glassware. In the store you will find art, candles, furniture, ivories and more at this store. Established in 1978, Another Time Antiques' believes "a purchase from the past is an investment in the future."

ARTEFACT ARCHITECTURAL ANTIQUES Rt. 263, The Village Barn Furlong, PA 215-794-8790 www.artefactantiques.com

arts & antiques guide Our store is open to the public and situated in an eighteenth century stone barn with half an acre of formal gardens. The majority of our inventory is antiques and includes fireplace mantels, stained and beveled glass windows, doors and entryways, interior and exterior lighting, decorative objects, furniture, and garden appointments. In the formal gardens, you will find antique and reproduction garden pieces in bronze, iron, marble, stone, terra cotta, and wood.

Only producing items that are true reproductions. Using the 18th century craftsman as our guide we carefully recreate the expertise of that period.

BEST OF FRANCE ANTIQUES 3686 Route 202, Mechanicsville, PA 215-345-4253 info@bestoffranceantiques.com Offering a large collection of 19th century European antiques, as well as urns, benches, gates, fountains, and statues for the the garden. We do furniture repair and restoration by highly trained crafsman. We are experts in moving antiques, as well as complete residential moves anywhere in the US. We also do buyouts, purchasing of antique paintings, furniture, jewelry and more.

BUCKS COUNTY ANTIQUE DEALERS ASSOCIATION Newtown, PA www.bcadapa.org The Bucks County Antiques Dealers is an association of professional Antique Dealers located in Bucks County, Pennsylvania and the surrounding area, who are dedicated to the preservation and advancement of quality Antiques and Collectibles.

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CANAL FRAME-CRAFTS GALLERY 1093 General Greene Rd. Washington Crossing, PA 215-493-3660 www.CanalFrame.com We are not just another frame shop, but a full-service gallery.

Featuring both originals and prints, we represent many fine local artists. We have also received awards for our custom framing.

Check our our website for scheduled events and holiday hours.

DOG HOUSE ANTIQUES 6126 Lower York Road New Hope, PA. 215-262-3058 or 908-635-2876 Doghouseantiquesnewhope@gmail.com Dog House Antiques is a unique and interesting antique store that has quickly become a must visit destination for tourists and locals. It is antiques with an attitude. Stop by to see their bold array of antiques, statement pieces and garden appointments. Doghouse Antiques offers a wide variety of antiques, furniture, architectural pieces, garden appointments, art, taxidermy and more.

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Visiting

Robert Whitley It is always good to visit an old friend, especially 94 year-old nationally recognized master craftsman Robert Whitley

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BY BILL WAITE

rtisan and craftsman, Robert Whitley recently turned 94, and he still enjoys refinishing, repairing and making furniture.

My wife Vicky, my teenage son Bobby and I decide to visit him.

Arriving at Robert’s Solebury studio, he greets us with a smile and leads us inside. Immediately we are confronted by his work. Pure genius. Seeing his paintings, we are surprised to find out that Robert Whitley is a painter as well as a master craftsman known worldwide for his fine work.

It has been a long time since we visited our friend Robert Whitley. Vicky has stayed in touch with him over the years. I remember that in 1993 we featured him in our magazine. Then we knew he had these amazing commissions, such as a chess set presented by Richard Nixon to the Soviet Union that is now in the collection of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Perhaps his most well-known piece is his reproduction of President John F. Kennedy’s Oval Office desk for the Kennedy Memorial Library in Boston. He spent three and a half days in the oval office making drawings, sketches and taking precise measurements under the strict supervision of the secret service.

Robert is a fascinating guy. He tells us about growing up in Trenton, NJ and that he has been designing and making furniture since 1948. He learned his skills from his father who was an antique collector and himself a skilled craftsman. Robert grew up with a childhood passion for history and art. In the ’60s he opened the Lambertville Flea Market which later he sold and then moved to Solebury, Pennsylvania, where he built his workshop and home.

Robert gives us a tour of his home, studio and 104

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grounds where he lives and works. As we walk around his property, he tells us about the time he met Donald Trump in New York while exhibiting his furniture in a show. He also tells us about his meetings with Ronald Regan, Patricia Kennedy Lawford, sister to President John F. Kennedy. He reminisces about the late ’50s and ’60s when stars appearing at the Bucks County

Opposite, Robert Whitley sitting in his Solebury studio. Top left, Whitley and Bobby Waite in living room, Top right, the Credenza table by Whitley and an antique mirror. Center left, a view from other side of living room with Whitleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s handmade fireplace and some of his furniture in view. Center right, a view of the tea room filled with Whitley furniture. Bottom, a highboy reproduction.

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Top left, the Walking Table. Top right, the Robert Whitley Rocker. Bottom left, the Mountain Table. Bottom right, a painting of Bucks County farm by Whitley.

Playhouse would come to the Logan Inn to eat, drink and practice their lines for an upcoming play. He even has a painting he did of Walter Matthau.

Robert Whitley restored important pieces for the Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where he served as master conservator. Besides restoration, his handmade contemporary furniture designs have provided him with many national awards, and his work is in the collections of such prestigious institutions as the Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institute, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Whitley’s Throne Bench is in the James A. Michener Art Museum.

Many of his restorations of antique furniture inspired his reproduction work, which is why we called our 1993 feature in Bucks County Town & Country Living, Crafting Tomorrow’s Antiques.

Examples of his work include a reproduction of a period secretary desk made in highly figured American black walnut with three side chairs for George Washington’s Office in Valley Forge. He recreated an exquisite transition piece from Queen 106

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Anne to Chippendale in highly figured American Cherry, perfectly proportioned and sized.

He also recreated Aaron Burr’s secretary desk and did reproductions for the Old Barracks Museum in Trenton, NJ. We enjoy the rest of our time sitting outside in his tea room looking at beautiful views of the countryside. We all were inspired and our son who loves the arts and crafts learned so much about the history of the arts in Bucks County.

Bill Waite is the publisher of Bucks County Magazine.

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arts & antiques guide DUNNGEON ANTIQUES 132 East Broad St. Quakertown, PA 18951 267-490-9507 dunngeonantiques@yahoo.com Dunngeon Antiques is located in the antique district of Quakertown and is a place to find hidden treasures that include tin signs, furniture, Lionel trains, mirrors, pocket watches, jewelry, vintage military, vintage clothing, western boots and they also give free upholstery estimates.

www.theframegame.com Unique gifts, home accessories, custom and do it youself framing.

HEART OF THE HOME 28 S. Main St., New Hope, PA 215-862-1880 www.heartofhome.com Handmade American crafts and functional, well designed pieces for the home and garden.

We strive to find the unusual and one-of-akind piece. Handling glass, jewelry, wood, pottery, paper products and more.

215-794-5500 www.lachmanstudios.com Renowned for his pastels as well as his oil paintings, Al Lachman is a Master colorist. He is recognized for his expressive painterly style and luminous paintings of barns and landscapes of Bucks County and beyond.

FALLSINGTON ANTIQUE & CRAFT SHOP 4 Yardley Avenue Fallsington, PA 215-295-0251 The Antique & Craft Shop provides a charming selection of collectibles and antiques appropriate to Fallsington. You’ll find candles, vintage dressers, linens, pottery, stenciled slates, primitive cupboards, antique country tables & chairs and antique lighting.

HERITAGE LIGHTING 67 Bridge Street, Lambertville, NJ 609-397-8820 www.heritagelighting.com At Heritage Lighting tradition meets innovation and treasures from European artisans.

Join the best of American craftsmanship and design. Heritage Lighting has earned its reputation for tasteful yet interesting lighting. For over 25 years, we offered locally handmade and exclusive imports.

LIZA MILLER LTD EUROPEAN HOME & GARDEN 5297 Lower York Road New Hope, PA From Eastern Europe, Liza Miller LTD has everything from rustic farm tables, to brightly painted benches and vintage cheese boards farm tables, hutches, kitchen islands, dough bowls, architecturals, wrought iron, vintage glass, grain sacks, and more. Liza Miller also carries over 50 unique gift lines for women, men and babies. A portion of Liza Miller’s profits goes to support Firm Foundations Romania, an international volunteer program that “loves the unloved” by holding, feeding, and caring for abandoned infants at a pediatric hospital in Brasov, Romania.

THE FRAME GAME Stores in Yardley and Newtown, PA 215-860-8727 and 215-321-9141

LACHMAN GALLERY Peddlers Village, Rt. 202, Lahaska, PA

MAKEFIELD COLLECTION OF ANTIQUES AND ART 215-598-8830

9th Annual Traditional Artists Show To Benefiit The Conservatoryy

Opening Night: FFrriday, September 28, 5-9 ppm m Open Saturday & Sunday, September 29 & 30 – 11 am to 5 pm m 4059 Skyron Drive Doylestown, PA 18902 • www.facebook.com/TraditionalArtistShowBucksCounty 108

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761 Durham Road Route 413, Pineville, PA www.makefieldantiques.com Over 7,000 square feet and 50 plus vendors. You will find a charming atmosphere with many fine antiques and vintage items, from furniture, collectibles, fine art, pottery, jewelry and linens.

AL LACHMAN

MAXWELL STUDIO/GALLERY 215-884-2401 www.junemaxwell.com Her work is described at “Still Life with an Inner Glow.” June Maxwell creates textural classics in pastel and oil from her studio and gallery.

MICHENER ART MUSEUM 138 S. Pine St, Doylestown, PA 215-340-9800 www.michenermuseum.org The Doylestown-based museum has 35,400 square feet of space, with a landscaped courtyard, an outdoor sculpture garden and terrace built in the original prison yard, seminar and conference facilities, a museum shop and café, and the George Nakashima Reading Room.

As a regional art museum whose principal focus is Bucks County, Pennsylvania, the Michener Art Museum collects both historic and contemporary American works, with a focus on the art of Bucks County.

“Chasing New Horizons”

LACHMAN GALLERY ANNUAL SHOW

“Save the Date – Nov. 10, 2018”

Peddler’s Village | 215.794.5500 | www.allachman.com

MIGNONI JEWELRY 200 Mill Street Bristol, PA 215-788-3243 A family of fine jewelers since 1947. Custom design jewelry and watch repair. Antique jewelry, choice gold & cameos from Italy.

NEW HOPE ANTIQUES & DESIGN CENTER 6148 Lower York Road (route 202) New Hope PA 267-714-5014 www.newhopeantiquescenter.com The New Hope Antiques & Design Center is a premier destination for quality Antiques, Artifacts, Art and Vintage goods, including American, English, European, Asian, Mid Century Modern, Industrial Antiques, Architectural, Estate Jewelry, Folk Art, Vintage Clothing, Artifacts, Books, Lighting, and Art, Painted Furniture and Unique finds.

“Valley Green” oil 16” x 20”

“Still Life with an Inner Glow”Exquisite Textural Classics by

JUNE L. MAXWELL, PSA, Master Pastelist Original Paintings in Pastel and Oil

MAXWELL STUDIO/GALLERY Continued on page 113

215-884-2401 email: JuneLMaxwell@aol.com www.junelmaxwell.com

Tues-Sat by Appointment

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Frank Arcuri’s Black Chords Bucks County painter Frank Arcuri is a master of the artful contrast between shadow and light known as chiaroscuro

B

Frank D. Quattrone

lack is mysterious, haunting, and beautiful. This is certainly true when you’ve mastered chiaroscuro, the artful contrast between shadow and light—a hallmark of the style of Frank Arcuri. More than a modern master of classically inspired still-life paintings, Arcuri has elevated the technique to a pinnacle rarely seen in today’s representational art.

Take, for instance, his painting of Leonardo, a beloved black-and-white cat the artist has known well. No mere fluffy lump asleep on a cozy carpet, Leonardo reclines, like a human counterpart, against the headboard of a comfortable bed, on a white blanket, his black tail and belly, his white hind paws, pink nose and inner ears, and his white muzzle clearly in view.

But you are first drawn to his eyes—his penetrating gaze, staring at the intrusion, challenging the onlooker, as if to say (think Robert De Niro’s protagonist in Taxi Driver), “You talkin’ to me?

You talkin’ to me?” Clearly, Leonardo’s eyes are the painting’s prize. We’re drawn to them naturally because of the light reflected there. And it informs our experience with the work.

As Arcuri likes to tell his art students, “You’re not painting the object but the light falling on the object.” Perhaps his success as an art instructor, and certainly as an artist—his work appears in public and private collections worldwide, including places his solo exhibitions have garnered praise, like New York City, London, Hong Kong, and of course, Bucks County, where he teaches, lives, and paints

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—lies in this simple observation: “One of the biggest visual treats we have in life is a highlight.”

He tells his students, “Paint the highlight first.”

Look again at Leonardo’s eyes and you understand the illusion, the game the artist plays with light and space. You’ll also begin to understand Arcuri’s so-called “value spectrum.” He says, pointedly, “I’m not afraid to go black. Without it, the contrast is not so strong. You’ll see everything from the brightest light to the mystery in the shadow. Color confuses values. I try to capture an aerial perspective, the air around the object.”

Clearly inspired by some of the greatest classical practitioners of chiaroscuro—among them Rembrandt, Caravaggio, and Velasquez—the Brooklyn-born artist was also influenced by several art instructors he studied with at the Art Students League in New York City, who led him to see the beauty in chiaroscuro.

For Arcuri, “The subject matter is the light.

You’re painting the light pouring on it. “And don’t be afraid of the dark,” he admonishes his students, whom he teaches in three-hour oil-painting classes

Opposite, a selfie of Frank Arcuri. Top, Still Life with Lobster, 14 X 16. Bottom left, Decorative Vase I (with dogwood blossoms), 16 X 20. Bottom right, Nell, 9X11.

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Top left, Pinto II, 12X16. Top right, Leonardo, 11 X 14. Below right, Decorative Vase II (anemones), 12 X 16.

offered every day but Sunday in his charming Bucks County studio classroom, where each student works at a dedicated station, complete with special light source and still-life shelf.

Although the classroom is full of statuary, wine bottles, old boots and mandolins, the students may bring their own objects, as Arcuri guides both serious beginners and advanced artists in the fundamental techniques of representational painting. They focus on color harmony and composition in the time-honored tradition of the still-life.

Also in his studio classroom are several original oils of barn swallows and other birds, painted by his talented wife, Margarie Arcuri, whose works are on view at Patricia Hutton Galleries, at 47 W. State Street in Doylestown, which is the setting for Frank Arcuri’s latest solo exhibition, featuring twenty new oil paintings, as well as many earlier works.

One painting you will surely enjoy is Arcuri’s Still Life with Lobster, a brilliant dance of bright highlights upon white-gray oyster shells in a basket between a hyper-real cooked lobster and coal-black mussel shells. While Arcuri’s work—accenting floral arrangements in decorative vases, pineapples, quince, and other fruits, Italian food on colorful platters, even a stately black-and-white pinto, and a defiant rabbit guarding a garden— is reminiscent of the old masters, it often has a decidedly modern edge, as in his oil on linen Let the Good Times Roll, featuring a sleek Fender electric guitar resting on a pliant sheet of canvas, or After Hours, where a jazz guitar, yellow pick shimmering prominently, lies on its stand, shadowed mysteriously, adjacent to the edge of a partially lighted piano. Arcuri, in his spare moments, enjoys playing bluesy standards on his guitar. He has studied music with renowned guitarist Joe Renzetti, who won a Best Adaptation Score Oscar for his work on The Buddy Holly Story.

Frank Arcuri has come a long way from the six-year-old 112

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who won a pair of roller skates for his prowess in a coloring book art contest sponsored by a popular Brooklyn cinema, to a modern master of the dramatic interplay in chiaroscuro. As he likes to tell his students, “The melody is in the light. The dark things are the chords behind the melody.”

For more information on Frank Arcuri and his art instruction, visit his website, https://frankarcuristudio.com, or call 267614-4602. Frank’s upcoming solo exhibition will be at Patricia Hutton Galleries, 47 W. State Street, Doylestown, PA. The opening reception takes place on Saturday, October 20, from 5 to 8 p.m. For more information, call 215-348-1728.

FRANK D. QUATTRONE IS AN AUTHOR, NEWSPAPER EDITOR,TEACHER AND FREELANCE WRITER FROM MONTGOMERY COUNTY WHO WRITES ABOUT LOCAL HISTORY, FOOD, ART AND PEOPLE.

LISTINGS

England artists. We also offer small antiques, vintage and antique sterling silver and etched glass. We also carry artisan crafted, hand painted wooden bowls, decoys, pottery, and fine frames.

continued from page 109

OLD SOUL ANTIQUES 141 E. Broad Street Quakertown, PA 18951 267â&#x20AC;&#x201C;500â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2134 Old Soul Antiques has many interesting antiques, collectibles, books and an art gallery. It has 12 rooms and about 40 vendors. Owner Jason Moffet says heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been collecting since he was very young and has always had a passion for things that were old. And, while Jason continues to add to his collection he has shops inside that he rents and still has few spaces left.

PATRICIA HUTTON GALLERIES 47 West State Street, Doylestown, PA 215-348-1728 www.PatriciaHuttonGalleries.com A fine art gallery located in the charming historic district of Doylestown, specializing in Impressionism and Realism by renowned Bucks County and New

SILVERMAN GALLERY 4920 York Road, Route 202 Holicong, PA 215-794-4300 www.silvermangallerybuckscounty.com The Silverman Gallery of Bucks County Impressionistic Art is committed to promoting the next generation of fine artists painting in the Impressionistic style.

Offering the work of the finest artistsworking today in the New Hope tradition: Desmond McRory, Jim Rodgers,Glenn Harrington,Jennifer, Hansen, Rolli, Joseph Barrett, ,Davie Stier, Anita Shrager, Jonathan Mandell, Jean Childs Buzgo and our guest artist, Evan Harrington.It offers affordable, investment quality original art for collection and investment.

TOUCHSTONE ART GALLERY 11 E. Afton Avenue, Yardley, PA 215 595 2044 https://touchstoneartgallery.com

The gallery is designed to appeal to many tastes and interests.On sale is a collection of wonderful paintings, collages, drawings, sculpture,ceramics, both functional and decorative, glasswork, clothing, scarves, handbags,jewelry, and more whimsical items. Several solo shows are scheduled each year. The artists are from Bucks County and the surrounding area.

WEATHERWOOD DESIGNS 3201 Mechanicsville Road Doylestown, PA 215-260-0566 www.weatherwooddesign.com Weatherwood Design...a native plant-based landscape architectural consulting firm specializing in ecological, resilient garden design and complementary sustainable rustic furniture resulting in unique spaces for outdoor places. At Weatherwood we believe that resilience goes beyond sustainability and strives to regenerate or breathe additional life into surrounding wildlife habitats and, in turn, the regional ecosystem.

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