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Members of the Sterling Strauser Gallery Committee at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania have announced the acquisition of “Jill on her Tricycle,” a rare, large-scale painting of the artist’s daughter by the late acclaimed, self-taught artist Sterling Boyd Strauser (1907-1995). This most recent acquisition is significant for a number of reasons from a historical and artistic perspective. Of the thousands of paintings created by Strauser in his lifetime, there were only a few, like “Jill on her Tricycle” that he signed with his full name. The oil on Masonite painting (48” X 36”) is also featured in a catalog of Strauser’s work that was published on the occasion of the presentation of Sterling Strauser, A Modernist Revisited at the Reading Public Museum in Reading, Pa., in November 1999.

According to the former Director and CEO of the Reading Public Museum, Dr. Robert Metzger, a key period of Strauser’s work was between 1920 and 1950, between the two World Wars. “Jill on her Tricycle” was painted in 1940. “It was in these years that Sterling Strauser emerged and matured with an art that celebrated America’s transition from aesthetic follower to international leader of the art world.”

“‘Jill on her Tricycle’ will now take its rightful place in ESU’s collection alongside other significant works of Strauser including ‘Grandparents’(1940), and ‘Creveling Homestead: Landscape with House,’(1926),” said Robert Moses, director of residence life and housing at ESU and chair of the Sterling Strauser Gallery Committee. “Sterling’s work offers us a look back in time to a different Pocono region, and those who have the opportunity to see his work have a deep appreciation and fondness for its depiction of life in and around East Stroudsburg. We are very fortunate to bring this collection to the students at ESU and the community-at-large.”

Funding of this acquisition was generated from the proceeds of a series of Strauser events held at ESU’s Innovation Center from 2012 to 2015. Plans are underway for another such event, that will feature “Jill on her Tricycle” and other Strauser works, to supplement the Gallery’s funds in order to address future needs of the collection. The Sterling Strauser Gallery Committee is partnering with the Pocono Arts Council to raffle off one of two Strauser paintings donated to the Gallery by Mr. Moses. The intent is to sell 100 raffle tickets at $50 each in order to help preserve the Stauser collection at ESU. The raffle is expected to end in the fall of 2016. Both of the paintings to be raffled will be on display at the Pocono Arts Council offices until all of the tickets have been purchased. To buy a raffle ticket and take your chance to own the work of Sterling Strauser, contact the Pocono Arts Council at (570) 476-4460 or stop by their offices at 18 North Seventh Street, Stroudsburg, Pa.

Sterling Boyd Strauser (1907 – 1995), whose German name means “one who binds the flowers,” was born in Bloomsburg, Pa. in 1907, and later moved to East Stroudsburg, Pa., with his wife, Dorothy. Sterling and Dorothy were quick to influence the arts throughout the Pocono Region, both as well-known collectors and promoters of folk and outsider art.

The Sterling Strauser Gallery at ESU opened in May 2012 and is located on the third floor of the university’s Innovation Center, and features the works of Strauser, who lived and painted in East Stroudsburg from 1928 to 1995. The Gallery’s initial collection was made possible thanks to a generous donation of 114 of Strauser’s paintings by Grey and Linda Carters, philanthropists and ardent art dealers. In 1964, after meeting Sterling Strauser, Grey Carter began buying and selling works of art to meet his desire to acquire an art collection. His gift to ESU was intended to honor his longtime friend.

Strauser’s art is also included in the permanent collections of the American Museum in Bath, England; the Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, Pa.; Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa.; Everhart Museum, Scranton, Pa.; Cheekwood Museum and Vanderbilt University, both in Nashville, Tenn.; Maier Museum of Art, Lynchburg, Va.; and numerous private and corporate collections.

For more information on the Sterling Strauser collection at ESU visit: esu.edu/strauser.