Name/Title
Mt. BaldheadEntry/Object ID
2018.13.02Description
Oil pastel on canvas, landscape with view of Mount Baldhead and radar dome, looking east from dunes at Saugatuck's Oval Beach.Collection
ArtworksCataloged By
Gollannek, Eric 1975-Acquisition
Accession
2018.13Source or Donor
Carls, KenAcquisition Method
DonationMade/Created
Artist
Brown, George Vincent III 1937-2018Date made
1995Notes
Technique: PastelLexicon
Search Terms
Mount Baldhead, Oval Beach, SaugatuckDimensions
Height
11-1/2 inWidth
14-1/2 inLocation
Shelf
AC bay 23 small worksRoom
Art Conservation RoomRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Brown, George Vincent III 1937-2018, Mount Baldhead Dune/ParkInterpretative Labels
Label
From “Keeping an Eye on History” at the OSH 2018
Mt. Baldhead
George Brown
oil pastel on canvas, ca. 1995
the story | Nothing contributed more to forming the Saugatuck area’s early identity as did the great dune called Mt. Baldhead—the summit of which provides both lake and village views. For years “Baldhead” was an open “living” dune subject to shifting sand and encroachment toward the Kalamazoo river. Fear of its blocking the channel and harbor led to the planting of trees and encircling it with fences to catch the sand blowing up from Lake Michigan.
the art | The oft-painted view of the iconic radar station atop Mt. Baldhead from the east across the dunes from Saugatuck’s Oval Beach has long been a natural subject matter for Saugatuck’s landscape painters. (The Carl Forslund piece in this exhibition is another interpretation of this same scene.)
the artist | George Brown took up painting after he retired as an executive at Ford Motor Company and operated a studio/gallery on Center Street in Douglas for several years in the late 1990s. His book An Artist’s Journey, published in 2013, is a brief illustrated history of how he became interested in painting.
SDHC Collection, gift of Kenneth R. Carls and James A. Schmiechen
Accession number 2018.13.02Create Date
June 13, 2018Update Date
September 2, 2024