Fine Artist Member Art Exhibit and the Guest House/Carl J. Weinhardt Gallery
An all-new Fine Artist Member Art Exhibit is up in the middle room of the Gallery! The quarterly rotating exhibit features art created by amateur, semi-professional, and professional artists local to the area. The show is mixed media with subjects being whatever the artist is inspired by. Nature, still life, fictional and nonfictional subjects, a popular one of course being our favorite historic home, Bonnet House. And all are for sale! Your purchase benefits both the artist and the museum. This exhibit features art created by local artists Howard Blacker, Jason Bollack, Anna Collins, Eleanor Davis, Barbara DiMartini, Sandy Dolan, George Dolan, Ruth Logan, Barbie Pearson, Phoenix, Kent Planck, and Karen Tondiglia.
The exhibit recently moved into the Gallery, which was a former guest house of the Bartletts. According to our files, “it consisted of two bedrooms, a sitting room (where the exhibit is), and two bathrooms. This was where guests stayed when visiting Mr. and Mrs. Bartlett. In the “master plan”, Carl Weinhardt, the first Director at Bonnet House, had projected that someday these rooms would make a perfect art gallery for the museum. In the spring of 1986 Mr. Weinhardt passed away suddenly. At this time a memorial fund was established, and plans began to turn the guest wing into the Carl J. Weinhardt Memorial Gallery. In September of 1986 Jack and Mary Wilcox, long-time friends of Mrs. Bartlett, became Directors at Bonnet House. Their first accomplishment as directors was to open the Carl J. Weinhardt Memorial Gallery.”
You will notice that the Bartlett’s whimsical tastes extended to the three main rooms of this guest house, with each room themed in the primary colors of red, blue, or yellow. This is still evident in the window and door frames. Featured in the two former bedrooms is a selection of art by Evelyn Fortune Bartlett, including beautifully crafted pastel works, watercolors, and oil paintings created in the 1930s. Photographs in this blog post show how the guest rooms once looked, as well as how the new Fine Artist Exhibit looks today. Come on over and check it out – this Fine Artist Exhibit will be running through August 26th, 2024.
