JON CRANE
CAPTURING THE BEAUTY OF RURAL AMERICA
1948 • CATEGORY ART
• HOMETOWN HILL CITY, SD •
NOMINATED BY ANGELA POCHES
Born in New Jersey in 1948, Jon Crane grew up among the crowded cities of the East Coast. When his grandparents introduced him to the West at age 15, those wild and untamed lands so inspired him that after high school graduation, he chose to study at the University of Northern Colorado, where he earned a B.A. in Fine Arts in 1971. He was commissioned in the Air Force as a Second Lieutenant upon graduation and moved to the Black Hills of South Dakota to start his military assignment as a pilot at Ellsworth Air Force Base. During those years, he became irreversibly connected to the wonders of the hills. Leaving the Air Force as a Captain in 1975, Crane resolutely began his work as an artist in 1976, painting his way into the uncertain future of a professional artist. Using a dry brush technique with transparent watercolors, Crane became adept at finding landscapes that evoked a simpler life, telling
14 • 2021 HONORS CEREMONY
through his nostalgic watercolors the story of rural America. His depictions have fittingly become known as “Art That Takes You Home,” a trademark that speaks to the emotional impact his work has upon his audience. In 1980, he opened the Crane Black Hills Gallery in Rapid City, which he operated until 1986. Despite having his own gallery, Crane traveled extensively with his artwork, showing at art festivals throughout America. After closing his first gallery, he began to distribute his work through galleries around the country, reserving his energy for painting. In 1995, he and his wife, Gail, opened another gallery in the little mountain town of Hill City, South Dakota, now owned and operated by Lori Nonnast. During the span of his career, Crane has preserved on watercolor paper many of the priceless treasures that South Dakota offers, scenes of rich meaning to those who live
