JULY • AUGUST • 2012
Searching for Wyeth:
Through a Collector’s Eyes
Andrew Wyeth
EXHIBIT WHEN & WHERE
Loren Cowles, president and owner of Rapids Tumble Finish in Eaton Rapids, didn’t set out to be an art collector, especially of one of America’s best-known 20th century artists. But there was something in Andrew Wyeth’s work that was easy for Loren to relate to: something comforting and familiar.
In 1986, Loren’s wife, Chris, gave him a print of Wyeth’s “Evening at Kuerner’s” that she had purchased at a frame shop.
Was it the earthy tones of Wyeth’s palette that reminded him of his childhood working on a farm in rural Michigan? Was it the architecture of the barns, the weathered quality of the clapboard
took Loren back to his boyhood and memories of a simpler time. Intrigued by this artist who he had never heard of, he began his search and over the years he has amassed a collection of over 250 Wyeth prints and portfolios.
Join Loren on July 1 from 2-4 pm for an opening reception for the exhibit. He will be speaking at 2 pm about his collection and his search for Wyeth.
His passion led him on a serendipitous journey to Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, home of Wyeth; a chance dinner encounter with Helga Testorf, famed for being Wyeth’s muse in his Helga portraits; and befriending the only man who framed Wyeth’s works. Cowles contagious passion for all things Wyeth has also
Some collectors can talk extensively about the exact reason they the fact they have a collection no one else can brag about. For Cowles, a soft spoken man, his eyes tell the story and he becomes thoughtful, even a little shy about the connection he feels between him and Wyeth’s work. It is, for Loren, something akin to coming home.
Searching for Wyeth: Through a Collector’s Eyes Hurst Gallery June 30-September 8, 2012
joined him and Chris on their journeys. “Christina’s World,” “Allan’s House,” a large signed watercolor, collector in all of us.
IN THIS ISSUE: Jewish Legacy (pg. 2) Patio Parties (pg. 3) Art of Ronald Frontin (pg. 4)
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Summer One-Day Wonders (pg. 5) 517•787•2320
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