October 1950: First One-Man Show At Arnot Gallery, Elmira NY

Greetings!

As we approach the John Stermer Retrospective this November, we would like to remember John Stermer’s first One-Man Show at the Arnot Art Gallery. The Arnot Art Gallery is part of the Arnot Art Museum in Elmira, NY.

Solo Show At The Arnot Art Gallery Elmira NY — School children get a tour of the John Stermer Solo Show at the Arnot Gallery (part of the Arnot Museum) in Elmira, NY. A museum guide discusses the artwork with the children.

Background.

In preparation for the upcoming retrospective, Stermer Art LLC engaged Maria Jensen as a writer and researcher. And, as part of the “Stermer Retrospective Team”, she has been researching John’s life from Elmira NY to Silver City NM and points in-between.

Maria’s research has been invaluable as it has enabled us to validate some of the family stories about John Stermer. Plus, she has been able to document his professional history. This is the type of information we have been looking for and it is so exciting to have someone doing the leg work. And, the bonus is Maria shares her interest and enthusiasm with all of us on the team.

About The One-Man Show.

“At the age of 30 and during his time at the Art Student League in NYC, the Arnot Art Gallery in Elmira NY, John’s home-town, hosted his first one-man art show. It took place in October of 1950 and displayed 23 of his oil paintings. The subject matter was largely of the Elmira area, but there were also scenes from New York City, as well as from along the coast of Maine. The museum was very much part of the community of Elmira, and a news-clipping printed at the time shows a group of school children viewing his paintings while being addressed by a museum guide.” ~Maria Jensen, Writer and Researcher

Maria says that she is a writer and a researcher who’s “fallen in love with learning about the life and artistic expressions of John Stermer”.

Paintings And The Program From The Show:

And, we would like to share with you two of the paintings that were in the solo show. Following the paintings are images of the cover and painting list from the gallery’s program.