LEXINGTON, NE – Jennie Fitch Hicks: Paintings and Poetry will display twenty oil paintings by this late Farnam, Nebraska resident whose life as a pioneer and professional painter is chronicled in The Elk in the Glade: The World of Pioneer and Painter Jennie Hicks, a narrative poetry collection by her great grandson, New York poet Bruce E Whitacre. Nearly fifty years after her death, this is the first museum show of her work.
Museum Director, Crystal Werger, intends for this exhibit to tell Jennie’s story through art, words, and the history of a small town in Dawson County. “I want our visitors to feel a connection to Jennie by the time they walk out of the art gallery”.
Jennie’s paintings are oil copies from other source material yet show her vibrancy and creativity as a woman artist in rural mid-century America. Many of her paintings are still in existence today throughout Nebraska and across the country. Family members from far and wide are sending Jennie’s work to be seen in her fist ever gallery exhibit. Paintings referenced in Bruce’s poems will be on display plus several others.
The exhibit opens February 10 and Whitacre’s book will be available in the museum gift shop.
On April 13, Whitacre and extended Fitch and Hicks family members will attend the show and Whitacre will read and sign copies of his book as part of his Nebraska book tour throughout April. The Museum invites anyone who owns a painting by Jennie Hicks to bring it to the museum on or before April 13 so it can be shown while the family is visiting the museum. Those interested in participating should contact the museum at 308-324-5340.
For more information on this tour and The Elk in the Glade, see www.crownrockmedia.com.
