Name/Title
Painting the Town - A History of Art in Saugatuck and DouglasEntry/Object ID
2019.35.92Description
Beginning in the 1890s, hundreds of city artists, mostly from Chicago, flocked to the Saugatuck-Douglas area for its unspoiled lakes, forests, dunes, and picturesque villages. The great industrial boom in large cities like Chicago and Detroit led to a shocking increase in wealth and mechanization but also brought overcrowding, noise, and dirt. These urban artists sought escape from the complexities of city life and came to believe that the wholesomeness of the natural landscape and "the life of the plain people" represented the genuine America. By 1930, so many city artists arrived every summer that several art schools were organized in Saugatuck, including the Ox-Bow Summer School of Painting, established by painters from the Art Institute of Chicago. Several artists from the summer schools earned national and regional recognition, including Claes Oldenburg, LeRoy Neiman, Francis Chapin, Carl Hoerman, Alfred Krehbiel, John Norton, and William Greason. Illustrated with black-and-white and color reproductions of paintings of Saugatuck-Douglas and its surrounding landscape, Painting the Town also includes biographies of 90 artists known to have worked in the area since 1890. This book also explores the role of the artist as historian, since the paintings and sketches included have helped Saugatuck to define and memorialize its landscape and its past.
61 pages : illustrations, map ; 28 cmCollection
BooksCataloged By
Slusar, VernLexicon
Search Terms
art, Saugatuck, Douglas, 1 Art -- Michigan -- Saugatuck -- Exhibitions., 2 Art -- Michigan -- Douglas -- Exhibitions., 3 Saugatuck (Mich.) -- History., 4 Douglas (Mich.) -- History., 5 Art., 6 Michigan -- Douglas., 7 Michigan -- Saugatuck., 8 OxbowBook Details
Author
Lane, Kit 1939-2024Edition
Special editionPublisher
SDHS Saugatuck-Douglas Historical Society 1986-2017Place Published
City
DouglasState/Province
MichiganCountry
United States of AmericaContinent
North AmericaDate Published
1997Binding
Binding Type
Hardcover or Case BoundCall No.
977.401 LANISBN
0965704297Condition
Overall Condition
ExcellentNotes
multiple copies. 3 hardcover special editions and 2 softcoverRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Lane, Kit 1939-2024Exhibition
Painting the TownGeneral Notes
Note
Status: OK
Status By: Vern Slusar
Status Date: 2020-07-29Note
From SDHS newsletter insert page 28.
The Saugatuck-Douglas Historical Society has completed their first publication "Painting the Town: A History of Art in Saugatuck and Douglas"which will be for sale at the museum beginning about June 1. [1997] Written by committee co-chairman Kit Lane, with lots of help from her committee, other Society members and most of the town, the book was designed by Ken Cans. It is published in soft cover with a full color cover and several pages of color illustrations.
The volume was made possible by contributions from area businesses and individuals, a donation from the Saugatuck-Douglas Art Club and a grant from the Michigan Council of the Humanities. The cost is $15 per copy, add S3 if you want it mailed, and order from: Saugatuck-Douglas Historical Society, PO Box 617, Douglas, MI 49406. It would help if you would write the words BOOK ORDER on the envelope.Create Date
July 29, 2020Update Date
April 3, 2024