Friday and Saturday, April 14 and 15, will be the 24th annual History Meets the Arts (HMTA) show & sale in Gettysburg. 17 artists represented by Lord Nelson’s Gallery will be at the Gettysburg Fire Company Community Room Friday April 14, from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm and again Saturday April 15, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. Eight painters specializing mostly in 18th century historical scenes as well as a number of artisans creating period accoutrements such as powder horns, colonial pottery, hand forged knives, wood boxes and more will be there in person with their latest works. Gettysburg resident author Jeff Shaara will also be in attendance with his broad collection of historical novels. Admission is free on both days with a voluntary $5.00 donation to Pink Out, a Hanover, PA based women’s cancer survivor benefit fund.
Award winning artist Robert Griffing will be one of the painters showing his art prints and paintings at the show this year. He will also be signing copies of his third art book, An Amazing Journey, containing over 130 of his paintings done in the past ten years. Griffing studied illustration and design at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and went on to enjoy a thirty-year career in advertising. His lifelong interest in Native American and colonial history was the result of growing up in western Pennsylvania, where many eighteenth-century historical events took place. Today, Griffing paints the Native Americans of the Great Lakes and Eastern Woodlands. His work has been included in educational packages, TV historical documentaries, the covers of dozens of books and national magazines, and Native American museums and cultural centers, including the 2007 exhibition “Emissaries of Peace”, at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C.
Other painters at HMTA include award winning artists John Buxton (PA), Bryant & Pamela Patrick White (PA), and David Wright (TN). Several of their paintings are included in the permanent collections of the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in Indianapolis, IN and the Booth Western Art museum in Georgia, in addition to being featured in numerous government buildings, National Park Service Visitor Centers, Colonial Williamsburg, and Mount Vernon.
The painters will be joined by three dimensional artisans including sculptor Wayne Hyde of Bedford, PA, knife maker Steve Auvenshine (KY) whose knives have been commissioned for use by lead actors in films such as Jurassic World, Jumanji, and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, folk artists Wayne and William Fluke of Bedford, PA with hand-carved walking sticks, powder horn maker Tim Sanner from western PA, colonial redware potter Selinda Kennedy, hand-painted floorcloth maker Jennifer Frantz and others.
This is your opportunity to meet with these talented artists all under one roof, every one of them happy to share their art, knowledge, and love of early American history with you. For more information on the History Meets the Arts show, please contact Lord Nelson’s Gallery at 717.334.7950 or visit www.HistoryMeetsTheArts.com. Lord Nelson’s Gallery is located at 17 Chambersburg Street in downtown Gettysburg.
