This website provides information about preparations for the Ferdinand Brader exhibit at Canton Museum of Art in Canton, Ohio scheduled December 4, 2014 through March 15, 2015. Collaborative exhibits at the McKinley Museum / Stark County Historical Society and at the Historical Society of Berks County substantially add to the number of Brader drawings to be seen at the same time.
Sign-up for email updates about preparations for this exciting exhibit here.
SAVE THIS DATE: Saturday, July 20, 2013. Second annual "Bring your Brader to the Museum Day (aka BRADER DAY) at the Canton Museum of Art. This is your opportunity to bring your drawing to the museum to be professionally photographed. For no charge, you will receive a color print of your drawing and a digital image, which you can then share with family members.
What's new for 2013...
May 14: Another drawing for Medina County! Bringing the total of identified drawings to 202! Many thanks to Tiffany who made this exciting discovery possible.
May 13: Details of a Marlboro Township drawing examined. We had the opportunity to examine a wonderful Brader drawings out of the frame today, and observed a couple of interesting houses, which you can see HERE. (Thank you Anne for sharing your treasure, and thank you Christian for making the examination possible.)
April 29: Two more drawings have been discovered! One each for PA and OH This means that now our total number of cataloged drawings is 201 (yes, two hundred and one!). This new information has increased the total drawings known in Nimishillen Township, Stark County Ohio to 22, the highest number for any other township. Thank you Randy and Sandy for sharing your family treasure you found while cleaning out your father's attic!
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WELCOME, NEW VOLUNTEERS !
Lisa Minardi, assistant curator at Winterthur, has volunteered to help identify Brader drawings in the Berks County area. Lisa brings a wealth of knowledge and appreciation Pennsylvania German folk life to this project. She is an expert on Pennsylvania German arts and architecture. Lisa, we appreciate your enthusiasm for Brader's drawings and your support of this project.
Della Clason Sperling, a well-trained art historian who is intrigued by Brader's detailed drawings, is studying the art of the Swiss Appenzel painters for a connection with Ferdinand Brader's life work. Welcome Della!
Bristol Voss Duggan, well-respected researcher, is focusing on details of Brader's life and times. Bristol is looking for answers to questions such as "Where did he get his art supplies?...What did he smoke? ...How much did everyday things cost in the the 1880s-90s?" It is fun to have you aboard, Bristol!
Jeff Herb just offered to research the Brader drawings of South Lebanon township and of Tulpenhocken township as well. This will be an important step forward in locating the precise locations of some of the Berks County farms depicted by Brader in Berks. Thank you Jeff!
Jason Yoh will be researching Brader farm drawings as part of his current study of contemporary farm landscapes. Jason is combining his artisic training with his long-time interest in the work of Ferdinand Brader. Looking forward to your analysis, Jason!
April 25: Thanks to Brader volunteer Steven Espenshied, the Lake Township Historical Society welcomed the Brader Exhibit curator to their Fireside Chat.
April 18: Women's Initiative Network in Canton enthusiastically welcomed Kathleen's illustrated talk at their monthly luncheon. Many insightful questions were asked by this group of professional women. Two of the special guests had stories to tell about their own Brader drawings. It was indeed a lovely lunch!
April 15: Plain Township Historical Society hosted the Brader curator's presentation about the wonderful drawings Brader made of farms in this township. Judy Pocock, volunteer who researched Plain Twp locations was able to pinpoint the addresses, and members of the audience offered colorful stories about the families, the farms and the artist. A fun evening for all!
April 2: Thanks to our new friend from Michigan, we can show you this lovely floral drawing. Jim Scheetz brought this small 9" x 12"colored pencil drawing to the Museum today. Although Brader made dozens of similar floral drawings, this one is unique by having the date January 19th 1892. On that day Brader was registered at the Portage County Infirmary, of which he made at least three colored pencil drawings. These drawings are among the first using colored pencil.
March 25: Kiko welcomes Canton Museum of Art to their beautiful new offices on Fulton Road, Canton, Ohio. Theresa Blocker and Pam Drinkard hosted the meeting to bring Kiko auctioneers and realtors up-to-date on the exciting new developments in preparation for the Brader exhibit. Bill Gill, who is already quite familiar with Stark County Brader drawings, is part of the Kiko /Brader team.
March 15: Two new Lebanon County drawings found! A descendant of the the Smith family called to graciously share this information documenting their family farms in South Lebanon Township. The total number of drawings known in now 199. Will you be the one to document # 200 of these historically important drawings?
March 9: Important information about another Allegheny County drawing was provided by our new friend from Kentucky. Sue emailed us to tell of the existence of the 1883 drawing of the Ferry & Sons farm in western PA, near Sewickley. This further documents Brader's migration through PA into OH, and brings the total number of known drawings to 197.
The 4 drawings listed from this western part of PA also include the wonderful drawing from the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. The drawing of the John & Catharina Shuring farm in Franklin Township will be exhibited at the Canton Museum in 2014, courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago.
February 28: An interesting article about Brader in today's The Reading Eagle, the Berks County newspaper. Click HERE to read the entire story and to see the drawing of the Bechtel farm in Cumru Township, Berks County, PA.
February 27: Another Ohio drawing identified! A young man named Jacob migrated to Ohio from Pennsylvania in the early 1800s, established a family and a beautiful farm in Plain Township Ohio and eventually his sons and daughters also made their homes and raised their families on this same land. We now know that Brader has drawn at least three of these farms of Jacob's descendants. His drawings are serving to introduce their descendants, as these now far-spread families discover distant relatives, all with a great-great grandfather named Jacob.
February 21: Beulah Fehr of Reading PA continues her support and encouragement for this exciting project. "Boots" who was co-curator of the 1986 Brader exhibition at the Historical Society of Berks County, has been most generous with her help for the upcoming 2014 exhibit. Thanks to her, we now have an copy of Brader's drawing and the history of the Reininger vineyard, which produced about 8000 gallons annually.
Boots also gave us another title of yet another Brader Berks County drawing, "The Property of Henry Eckert". This brings the number of identified drawings to 196!. Thank you Boots for you on-going participation in this project.
February 10: Research help requested. Volunteers continue to work to identify the actual locations of the farms shown in Brader drawings. Plain Township historians have heard of the the existence of a drawing#952 captioned "The Residence and Store of Israel F Lantzer Cairo, Stark County Ohio" but still have not seen an image of the the drawing. If you have any clue where this drawing may be, they are asking that you notify the Canton Museum of Art or the exhibit curator.
January 24: Another Berks County drawing is available for purchase! You can enjoy the image and details here.
January 22: A fine Brader drawing has been acquired by the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This image of this drawing after its recent conservation is shown here by courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This image will appear in the book to accompany the Canton Museum of Art exhibition. A detail of the barnyard scene may be seen here.
SAVE THIS DATE: Saturday, July 20, 2013. Second annual "Bring your Brader to the Museum Day (aka BRADER DAY) at the Canton Museum of Art. This is your opportunity to bring your drawing to the museum to be professionally photographed. For no charge, you will receive a color print of your drawing and a digital image, which you can then share with family members.
What's new for 2013...
May 14: Another drawing for Medina County! Bringing the total of identified drawings to 202! Many thanks to Tiffany who made this exciting discovery possible.
May 13: Details of a Marlboro Township drawing examined. We had the opportunity to examine a wonderful Brader drawings out of the frame today, and observed a couple of interesting houses, which you can see HERE. (Thank you Anne for sharing your treasure, and thank you Christian for making the examination possible.)
April 29: Two more drawings have been discovered! One each for PA and OH This means that now our total number of cataloged drawings is 201 (yes, two hundred and one!). This new information has increased the total drawings known in Nimishillen Township, Stark County Ohio to 22, the highest number for any other township. Thank you Randy and Sandy for sharing your family treasure you found while cleaning out your father's attic!
.
WELCOME, NEW VOLUNTEERS !
Lisa Minardi, assistant curator at Winterthur, has volunteered to help identify Brader drawings in the Berks County area. Lisa brings a wealth of knowledge and appreciation Pennsylvania German folk life to this project. She is an expert on Pennsylvania German arts and architecture. Lisa, we appreciate your enthusiasm for Brader's drawings and your support of this project.
Della Clason Sperling, a well-trained art historian who is intrigued by Brader's detailed drawings, is studying the art of the Swiss Appenzel painters for a connection with Ferdinand Brader's life work. Welcome Della!
Bristol Voss Duggan, well-respected researcher, is focusing on details of Brader's life and times. Bristol is looking for answers to questions such as "Where did he get his art supplies?...What did he smoke? ...How much did everyday things cost in the the 1880s-90s?" It is fun to have you aboard, Bristol!
Jeff Herb just offered to research the Brader drawings of South Lebanon township and of Tulpenhocken township as well. This will be an important step forward in locating the precise locations of some of the Berks County farms depicted by Brader in Berks. Thank you Jeff!
Jason Yoh will be researching Brader farm drawings as part of his current study of contemporary farm landscapes. Jason is combining his artisic training with his long-time interest in the work of Ferdinand Brader. Looking forward to your analysis, Jason!
April 25: Thanks to Brader volunteer Steven Espenshied, the Lake Township Historical Society welcomed the Brader Exhibit curator to their Fireside Chat.
April 18: Women's Initiative Network in Canton enthusiastically welcomed Kathleen's illustrated talk at their monthly luncheon. Many insightful questions were asked by this group of professional women. Two of the special guests had stories to tell about their own Brader drawings. It was indeed a lovely lunch!
April 15: Plain Township Historical Society hosted the Brader curator's presentation about the wonderful drawings Brader made of farms in this township. Judy Pocock, volunteer who researched Plain Twp locations was able to pinpoint the addresses, and members of the audience offered colorful stories about the families, the farms and the artist. A fun evening for all!
April 2: Thanks to our new friend from Michigan, we can show you this lovely floral drawing. Jim Scheetz brought this small 9" x 12"colored pencil drawing to the Museum today. Although Brader made dozens of similar floral drawings, this one is unique by having the date January 19th 1892. On that day Brader was registered at the Portage County Infirmary, of which he made at least three colored pencil drawings. These drawings are among the first using colored pencil.
March 25: Kiko welcomes Canton Museum of Art to their beautiful new offices on Fulton Road, Canton, Ohio. Theresa Blocker and Pam Drinkard hosted the meeting to bring Kiko auctioneers and realtors up-to-date on the exciting new developments in preparation for the Brader exhibit. Bill Gill, who is already quite familiar with Stark County Brader drawings, is part of the Kiko /Brader team.
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| Bill Gill, Lynnda Arrasmith, M.J. Albacete, KathleenWieschaus-Voss, Theresa Kiko Blocker |
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| At the conference center in the new offices of Kiko Auctioneers & Realtors , Kathleen shows Brader drawings and tells Brader stories |
March 15: Two new Lebanon County drawings found! A descendant of the the Smith family called to graciously share this information documenting their family farms in South Lebanon Township. The total number of drawings known in now 199. Will you be the one to document # 200 of these historically important drawings?
March 9: Important information about another Allegheny County drawing was provided by our new friend from Kentucky. Sue emailed us to tell of the existence of the 1883 drawing of the Ferry & Sons farm in western PA, near Sewickley. This further documents Brader's migration through PA into OH, and brings the total number of known drawings to 197.
The 4 drawings listed from this western part of PA also include the wonderful drawing from the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. The drawing of the John & Catharina Shuring farm in Franklin Township will be exhibited at the Canton Museum in 2014, courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago.
February 28: An interesting article about Brader in today's The Reading Eagle, the Berks County newspaper. Click HERE to read the entire story and to see the drawing of the Bechtel farm in Cumru Township, Berks County, PA.
February 27: Another Ohio drawing identified! A young man named Jacob migrated to Ohio from Pennsylvania in the early 1800s, established a family and a beautiful farm in Plain Township Ohio and eventually his sons and daughters also made their homes and raised their families on this same land. We now know that Brader has drawn at least three of these farms of Jacob's descendants. His drawings are serving to introduce their descendants, as these now far-spread families discover distant relatives, all with a great-great grandfather named Jacob.
February 21: Beulah Fehr of Reading PA continues her support and encouragement for this exciting project. "Boots" who was co-curator of the 1986 Brader exhibition at the Historical Society of Berks County, has been most generous with her help for the upcoming 2014 exhibit. Thanks to her, we now have an copy of Brader's drawing and the history of the Reininger vineyard, which produced about 8000 gallons annually.
Boots also gave us another title of yet another Brader Berks County drawing, "The Property of Henry Eckert". This brings the number of identified drawings to 196!. Thank you Boots for you on-going participation in this project.
February 10: Research help requested. Volunteers continue to work to identify the actual locations of the farms shown in Brader drawings. Plain Township historians have heard of the the existence of a drawing#952 captioned "The Residence and Store of Israel F Lantzer Cairo, Stark County Ohio" but still have not seen an image of the the drawing. If you have any clue where this drawing may be, they are asking that you notify the Canton Museum of Art or the exhibit curator.
January 24: Another Berks County drawing is available for purchase! You can enjoy the image and details here.
January 22: A fine Brader drawing has been acquired by the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This image of this drawing after its recent conservation is shown here by courtesy of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This image will appear in the book to accompany the Canton Museum of Art exhibition. A detail of the barnyard scene may be seen here.
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The Property of Jacob and Mary Stout, Bern Town, Berks County
Ferdinand A. Brader Graphite on tan wove paper, 1880 Sheet: 29 15/16 x 51 13/16 inches (76 x 131.6 cm) Philadelphia Museum of Art: Purchased with the Lola Downin Peck Fund, 2012 |
January 16: Bob Lodge of McKay Lodge Conservation Laboratory in Oberlin, Ohio came to the McKinley to examine the 8 Brader drawings in the collection. This is a giant step forward in the conservation of these drawings. Kim Kenney, curator at the McKinley wrote this in her blog: Last week conservator Bob Lodge, of McKay Lodge Laboratory, Inc., came to the Museum to review our Brader collection. We have a total of 8 drawings -- 6 framed and 2 unframed. He examined each one and will be letting us know what the possibilities are for conservation. I found him riveting! I spent the day just trying to absorb a fraction of his vast knowledge about paper. There are some minor issues and some not-so-minor issues with our Braders, but nothing that will prevent any of them from being chosen for inclusion in the exhibition we are planning in conjunction with the Canton Museum of Art in December 2014.
Read more about the McKinley Museum on Kim's blog Curator's Corner. Watch for updates.
January 11: Amazing discovery of a quilt by Ferdinand Brader. The artist covered a whole piece of white cloth with delicate floral wreaths encircling stags and deer, and in the center drew a pair of clasped hands. His beautiful drawing on cloth was saved until the time approached for the daughter's marriage, and was then carefully and lovingly quilted. The daughter, now in her ninth decade, passed this beautiful quilt on to her daughter along with her story of the Swiss man who came to her mother's home in the 1890's and left this beautiful legacy,
January 10: McKinley Museum will collaborate with Canton Museum of Art! |
| Detail of the white-on-white bride's quilt drawn by Ferdinand Brader |
We are thrilled to announce that the McKinley Museum in Canton Ohio will be exhibiting an additional 30 drawings at the same time as the Canton Museum of Art exhibits 40. Yes, that does mean 7o drawings will be on view in the same town in December 2014! This happy collaboration will allow many more families to show and tell their family stories, and will allow all to see more of Ferdinand Brader’s amazing legacy.
January 8: More good news from Berks County...
January 8: More good news from Berks County...
The Reading Public Museum recently acquired The Property of John Bitting. This charming drawing is important as it is bears the date 1879, the earliest of any of his known farm drawings.
Thank you to Curator Scott Zwiegert for sharing this good news.
And congratulations to the The Reading Public Museum!
Thank you to Curator Scott Zwiegert for sharing this good news.
And congratulations to the The Reading Public Museum!
What was news in 2012 December 12: A heartfelt thank you to KIKO AUCTIONEERS for their financial support and their continued enthusiasm for the Brader research and upcoming exhibit.
December 11: Paul Locher has included two chapters about Ferdinand Brader in his new book When Wayne County was a Whippersnapper, a new history of Wayne County, Ohio, written for its bicentennial celebration. The Brader chapters were published in Wooster Record, and you can read them HERE. Copies of the Paul's book can be ordered from the The Daily Record, Wooster, Ohio (330-264-1125)
December 3: If you are interested in Brader, you will also be interested in Paul d'Ambrosio's American Folk Art at Cooperstown. Paul writes fascinating essays about various aspects of this most enjoyable topic, and has now written a very encouraging piece about the upcoming Brader exhibit and all of our ongoing research. (Thank you Paul for your support of this exciting project!) You can read the story and see Paul's blog HERE.
November 28: Lake Township, Stark County, Ohio is now fortunate to have a volunteer to research the property locations and family stories of the Brader drawings in that township. Steven Espenschied of the Lake County Historical society has offered his expertise and his abiding love of local history to help research the farms shown in the 11 drawings now cataloged. (Thank you Steve for joining the team!)
November 15: Looking back on the past year with gratitude. Much has been accomplished in this one year of information-gathering and sharing. None of this would have been possible without the many, many people who contributed so generously with support, encouragement and knowledge.
Thanks to friends......the number of identified farm drawings has increased to 194; the birthplace and family of Ferdinand Brader have been located; 28 drawings in the collections of 6 museums and 5 historical societies have been examined and studied; Brader Day at the museum was a huge success with 26 families bringing in drawings to be photographed and studied; dozens of family stories have been recorded; actual physical locations of drawings have been pinpointed.
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| Making Swiss Cheese in Ohio |
October 31: A well-respected citizen of Stark County visited and shared the story of his Brader drawing and the wonderful Cheese Story which you can read in full here. He also provided the information he has gathered over his many years of studying Brader's Ohio drawings.
October 29: Hurricane Sandy postponed research trip to Switzerland. Travel to Kaltbrunn, the home town of Ferdinand Brader will be rescheduled next Spring 2013. Kathleen planned to meet Wolf Seelentag there to search for more understanding of the early life of the artist who later emigrated to America and made the wonderful legacy of drawings of homes and farms in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Now looking forward to that journey next year.
October 21: By the generous contribution of Pennsylvania collector Dan Gantt, the database of identified drawings has been substantially increased with the addition of 16 previously uncataloged drawings. Mr. Gantt researched Brader's drawings for over a decade and was kind enough to consult with us, share his research files and engage in a fascinating conversation about the artist. Our conversation about all 94 drawings in Dan's list enriched our understanding of all Brader's work.
Thank you, Dan, for your kindness.
October 20: Feature article in Ohio magazine written by Amelia and Jeff Jeffers of Garth's Auctions! Read the story "Drawn to History" in Ohio magazine.
October 15: Margreth TrΓΌmpi Martin, Head of Cultural Affairs, Consulate General of Switzerland, graciously helped with research about Brader's home in the Canton St. Gall area, and offered insightful suggestions for additional study. Read more about Ferdinand Brader's Swiss heritage here.
October 15: We had the opportunity to see an important Brader drawing of the Portage County Infirmary which was probably drawn during the time the artist lived there the winter of 1891-1892. Many thanks to the private collector who invited us to see this historic drawing.
October 13: Another fine Tuscarawas drawing has been identified, bringing the total Tuscarawas drawings to 7. This is also the first identified drawing in Sandy Township in that County. Thanks to the private collectors who shared information and images.
October 12: Curators at the Met have approved the loan of Brader's drawing of the Gicker farm for our upcoming exhibit. This amazing Berks County drawing was a gift to the Metropoltan Museum from Edgar and Bernice Garbisch in 1979. Ferdinand Brader made this drawing in 1881, and as usual filled it with details from the life of the Gicker family.
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| Andrew Richmond |
October 9: We are happy to announce that Andrew Richmond will contribute his expertise and enthusiasm to the Brader exhibit. Andrew will be assembling a selection of farm portraits by other artists who were working in the late 19th century. This will help us see Ferdinand Brader in the context of other artists, and will help us understand Brader's work more fully. We will all benefit from Andrew's scholarly approach, his broad understanding of Midwestern history and culture, and his specific interest in Germanic influence. Andrew Richmond, a graduate of Kenyon College earned his MA from the University of Delaware at Winterthur. Andrew and his wife Hollie Davis write a monthly column for Maine Antique Digest and he is Vice President of Garth's Auctions. Welcome aboard Andrew!
October 5: The Brader drawing of the DeLong farm in Topton PA was sold last week at Pook and Pook in Downington PA. The new owner of the drawing is a lucky Pennsylvania collector who tells us the buildings of the drawing remain intact. What a wonderfully interesting drawing, so full of details.
October 3: Another drawing for Lake Township! This as yet uncatalogued drawing #603 from 1888 brings the total number of drawings to 177. Wonderful contribution to the ongoing quest to know more about Ferdinand Brader and the path he took through our countryside.
October 3: What a wonderful evening in the Malone University Library! Old friends and new gathered to share information and Brader stories. Here is Malone's press release and YouTube interview. There are more pictures HERE.
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| Gary Spangler, chair of the Visual Arts department opened the program |
September 15: Two more volunteers have come forward to offer to help with this exciting research project. Judy Pocock of the Plain Township Historical Society will be researching the location and stories behind the Plain Township drawings. Cary Coates of the Perry Township Historical Society will be working with the Perry Township drawings. (Thank you both for your enthusiasm and support of this worthwhile project!) Read about more volunteer opportunities.
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| The C.J. Fortna property, from a glass negative in the collection of the Massillon Museum |
September 6: Her great attention to detail led Massillon Museum archivist Mandy Pond to the discovery of another Perry Township drawing! Mandy was processing a group of glass negatives and came across a Teeple Studio glass negative with an image which she recognized as a Brader drawing. Although the caption of the drawing does not appear on the negative, the barn roof carries this inscription "C.J. FORTNA / 1888". Research indicates the C.J. Fortna farm was in Perry Township so her discovery brings the Perry Township total to 5, the Stark County drawings to 100 and the total number of landscape drawings to 176. Wonderful progress! By the way, these numbers do not include the numerous small floral drawings and certificates which Brader made; however, you will be able to see some of these floral drawings in the exhibit.
August 29: BREAKING NEWS! The record books of the Stark County Infirmary have been found! The location of these records of the County Home, where Ferdinand Brader is known to have wintered, has been a mystery for over half a century. But now, thanks to the actions of a conscientious, responsible woman and her daughter, these records are now in the Ramsayer Research Library of the Stark County Historical Society. You can see copies of the references to Ferdinand Brader HERE
August 27: Volunteer intern joins research staff. Post-grad history student Jeremiah Unkefer recently offered his services to further our Brader research. Jeremiah who lives in Stark County’s Marlboro Township is pinpointing the exact location of each of the 11 Marlboro Township drawings, and documenting the family stories connected with each drawing. We need your help too! Read about more volunteer opportunities.
August 10: Brader drawing found in Mahoning County, Ohio! This discovery sheds new light on Brader's travels, as this is the first drawing to be cataloged in this county. This drawing of the Beutler farm located in Smith Township is in an area apparently settled early in the 19th century by Swiss immigrants. This drawing is filled with amazing true-to-life details, for example this close-up shows the Swiss cowbells.
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| The Beutler cows, Smith Township, Mahoning County, OH |
August 2: We just heard that three of the drawings brought in for Brader Day have now been professionally cleaned and the old wooden back-boards replaced with new acid free backing. This is a critical step to preserving these drawings, and this preservation has been a bonus of the information sharing of that special Saturday.
July 30: Joshua Blay, curator at the Historical Society of Berks County in Reading PA emailed "ANOTHER BRADER FOUND!" " In the midst of preparing our art storage room for a project, we have just found a Brader in our collection not previously identified. We did have a record of it but the record never identified as a Brader, just a pencil drawing of a farmstead. Its unframed, rolled, but in pretty good shape with very minor tears found. Graphite on heavy brown paper. "The Property of John and Magdalena Reiniger, Elsace (Alsace) Town: Berks County. 1882." Signed at lower right corner "F. Brader 1882." House, barns, and outbuildings. Women working farm fields. Cows, chickens. At upper left is a wagon with men, horses, and a dog. Two men standing in doorways of barn at right, barn decorated with three stars. 30.75" high, 50.5" wide. "
July 14: There was a wonderful turnout for "Bring your Brader Day"at the Canton Museum of Art. 26 Brader drawings were brought in to be studied and professionally photographed. Read more here.
July 9: Gary Brown wrote an interesting feature story for The Canton Repository about Ferdinand Brader and the search for more of his drawings. You can still read the informative story here.
June 28: We had the opportunity to view the Brader drawing of the Portage County Infirmary which is in the collection of the Portage County Historical Society in Ravenna where one can still see the site of the old infirmary. Although it does look much different today, one can still sense how the countryside was in 1892 when the drawing was made.
June 26: Joshua Blay, curator at the Historical Society of Berks Society in Reading PA gave Lynnda and Kathleen a tour of their beautiful facility and extensive collections before directing them to a study room with the collection of Brader drawings. They also toured the HSBC current exhibit which features two Brader drawings. Later that day, Boots Fehr, who curated the 1986 ground-breaking Brader in Berks exhibit, graciously welcomed us to her home and encouraged our on-going research.
June 25: Jennifer Royer, curator at the Landis Farm Museum welcomed Lynnda and Kathleen into the museum's amazing new storage building to study the two Brader drawings in their collection.
June 20: The staff of the William McKinley Presidential Library and Museum welcomed staff members from the Canton Museum of Art to study the eight drawings in their collection. (Thank you especially to Curator Kim Kenney for the warm welcome and for supporting the research into the Stark County drawings)
June 19: We had the opportunity to study the Brader drawing of the Schuring property at the Art Institute of Chicago.
June 14: Kenyon College summer intern Maddie Gobbo interviews Brader guest curator about Ferdinand Brader's life and work, especially George Dilger's Brewery which is now at the beautiful new Gund Gallery on the college campus.
June 12: Thanks to an anonymous donor, the Genealogy Department of the Stark County (Ohio) Library now has the microfilm of the Portage County Infirmary Registry of Inmates. This enables us to examine the record of Brader's stay there from December 12, 1891 through April 18, 1892. (The search continues for information about where he passed the winter in other years)
June 1: A wonderful packet of information about Brader drawings arrived today! Thanks to the generosity of major folk art dealer David Wheatcroft, our knowledge of Brader drawings has increased substantially.
May 30: Kiko Auction, North Canton, Ohio. The well-attended auction included sale of the 1885 Brader drawing of the Property of William and Clementina Oswalt, Lexington Twp, Stark County, Ohio. This provided opportunity for much conversation amongst fans of Ferdinand Brader's work.
May 17: We had the opportunity to study the Brader drawings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and at the American Folk Art Museum in New York CIty.
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| Studying the Gicker drawing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art |
May 4-6: Midwest Antiques Forum in Cincinnati. Great forum with wonderful conversations about the life and work of Ferdinand Brader with museum curators, collectors, auctioneers, dealers, appraisers, a genealogist and a conservator.
May 3: Meeting this morning with members of Washington Township Historical Society to work out plans for identifying locations of the farms pictured in the 9 drawings known in that township. The planned road trip to follow Brader's path through that beautiful Ohio countryside will be fun indeed!
May 2: A family member visited the current exhibit at the Historical Society of Berks County (Reading PA) in which several Brader drawings are exhibited. This charming exhibit Barnyard Animal Art of Berks County will be on display through August 31, 2012. The Brader drawings on view are unusual in that one is of an uncaptioned and unkempt farm (perhaps a social commentary?) and the other is captioned as the property of a single woman (Mary Miller) rather than the usual husband and wife title. (A big
April 27: Great response to request for help at today's meeting of Stark County Garden Clubs
April 21: Wonderful news from Switzerland! Wolf Seelentag has posted the results of ongoing Brader genealogical research at Swiss Genealogy Forum.
April 20: One for Columbiana County !!!
April 18: Discovery of another Nimishillen drawing!
April 10: Just identified another drawing in Plain Township !
April 9: Exciting happening at the Osnaburg Township Historical Society meeting when a member shared a previously uncatalogued drawing. (Thank you Ida for sharing this and bringing the Osnaburg total to 5!
March through July 2012: A fine Brader drawing was part of the Gund Gallery exhibit exhibition "Persistence: The Rural in American Art" at Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio. The drawing, shown below, captioned George Dilger's Brewery and Residence, Louisville OH, 1885, on loan from the Canton Museum of Art.
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Image of #427, the Dilger Brewey, courtesy of Canton Museum of Art
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| Image of #501, the Kreibuill farm, courtesy of Canton Museum of Art |
Image of Hertzog farm at the top of the page is courtesy of Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York