Kurt and Valerie Malmberg of Greshville Antiques and Fine Art will present The Annual Berks County Art™ Show on Sunday, October 4 and continuing through Sunday, October 11. It will be held in their gallery located in a restored 18th-century Pennsylvania stone barn. This one week show features over 125 paintings by such artists as Ben Austrian, Christopher H. Shearer, John H. Raser, Mary B. Leisz and others from the school of Berks County artists from the mid 19th – early 20th centuries.? It is the only show of its kind.

Reading, Pennsylvania, was a thriving cultural center during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, as the coal, steel, textile and railroad industries flourished in Berks County. Along with theatrical and opera events, the local people and tourists enjoyed many art exhibitions that were held in the area. As a revival of that interest, Greshville Antiques and Fine Art has presented many shows over the years dedicated to the art created in Berks County.

Ben Austrian (1870-1921) is Berks County’s most well known artist of that era. His logo of a chick and broken egg shell for the Bon Ami Cleanser Company brought him international attention.? His paintings of chicks have won over the hearts of many and fine examples of his work will be offered in this year’s show.? Also included will be several of his tonalist landscapes from the early 1900’s.??

Chickens were a common sight in the backyards of city homes in the 19th century, and they became a popular subject matter not only for Ben Austrian,? but for many of his contemporaries.? Included in this year’s show is a rendition of a cocky white rooster with a red hen by Mary B. Leisz, a barnyard scene by D. B. Bechtel, and another by J. R. Righter.

Berks County’s beautiful? countryside lured artists to the rivers and fields to put brush to canvas.?? Christopher H. Shearer (1846-1926) was the most prolific of the local landscape painters, with a career spanning almost sixty years.? A sampling of his works includes a rendition of a stormy yet vibrant landscape, an 1879 genre scene of a woman sketching in a meadow, and a number of early delicate miniature landscapes.

Through their brushstrokes, the artists documented? the exceptional structures? and buildings of? 18th century Berks County.? A collection of landscape paintings by Eugene S. Reeser (1862-1922) includes a detailed miniature painting of a grist mill and another of a stone bridge.? “Schoeneman’s Mill near Reading” is a finely executed work by John Heyl Raser (1824-1901), who was well known for his exacting detail and his realistic compositions.?

As an addition to this year’s show, Greshville Antiques and Fine Art is proud to be collaborating with another local gallery to introduce a new exhibition:?? “Frederick Sands Brunner:? Boyertown’s Rockwell.”? Frederick Sands Brunner was born in Boyertown, Pennsylvania in 1886.? He became nationally known as an illustrator in the era of magazine art.? Selected pieces will be included in The Annual BERKS COUNTY ART™ Show, and the complete collection will be on exhibition at Studio B October 16 through November 30.? Studio B, located in the heart of historic Boyertown, is a nonprofit organization “providing opportunities to enhance creativity, health, and wellness” through the arts.? The collection includes an interesting? and diverse selection of genre scenes, portraits and landscapes.?

?Kurt and Valerie Malmberg, the owners of Greshville Antiques and Fine Art, have been researching Berks County artists and their works for over 25 years.? They are considered the leading authorities and appraisers of BERKS COUNTY ART™,? and assisting auction houses, institutions, appraisers, and collectors in evaluating and purchasing this rediscovered regional art.

The Annual BERKS COUNTY ART™ Show will be on display Sunday, October 4 through Sunday, October 11, at Greshville Antiques and Fine Art, located on Route 562, near Boyertown, Pennsylvania.? All of the paintings exhibited in this well attended show will be available for purchase and are guaranteed as represented.?? Along with the collection of BERKS COUNTY ART™, the gallery also carries a collection of 19th and 20th century American and European art, and quality American and European clocks and furniture.?

The show hours are Sunday, October 4, noon to 7 p.m. and Monday, October 5 through Saturday, October 10, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. For more information on The Annual BERKS COUNTY ART™ Show, contact Valerie Malmberg at Greshville Antiques and Fine Art at (610) 367-0076 or at www.greshvilleantiques.com

Posted: 10|1|09 at 3:22 pm. Filed under: Fairs News.