East Stroudsburg University invites the general public to attend \u201cThe Significance of Strauser,\u201d to view significant works of the late acclaimed, self-taught artist of national note, Sterling Strauser, that are on loan from local community members for a limited show.\u00a0 The event will take place on Friday, June 7 from 6 – 8 p.m. at the temporary location of The Sterling Strauser Gallery in the ESU Innovation Center, located at 562 Independence Road, East Stroudsburg, Pa. Cost per person is $50 and per-registration is recommended.<\/p>\n
The Gallery, which officially opened in May of 2012, features the works of Strauser, who lived and painted in East Stroudsburg from 1928 to 1995.\u00a0 The Gallery\u2019s initial collection was made possible thanks to a generous donation of 114 of Strauser\u2019s paintings by philanthropists and ardent art dealers, Grey and Linda Carter and family of McLean, Va., last year. Carter is a private art dealer and artist\u2019s representative. In 1964, after meeting Sterling Strauser, Grey 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.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s show will include some of those donated works, but will highlight significant pieces of work from members of the community accompanied by personal stories about the paintings.\u00a0 Many of the loaned paintings reflect Strauser\u2019s personal connection to people and places, and also speak to his passion for life\u2019s simplest pleasures – florals, trains, horses, nudes, circus entertainers, landscapes, seascapes, friends and family, and still lifes of fruits and breads.<\/p>\n
Thanks to the generosity of the East Stroudsburg Savings Association\u2019s Bank and Trust Foundation and Mr. James Sittig, local art collector and enthusiast, The Strauser Gallery at ESU was able to acquire \u201cThe Grandparents (circa 1940), which is believed by many to be one of Strauser\u2019s most important paintings. The Gallery has also acquired some works by artists in the \u201cStrauser Circle,\u201d specifically his wife, Dorothy Strauser, Justin McCarthy, Jack Savitsky, Victor Joseph Gatto, Joseph Polinski, Charlie Dieter, Tom Fish and Lamont \u201cOld Ironsides\u201d Pry.\u00a0 These new acquisitions will also be part of the June event.<\/p>\n
When asked to describe Strauser, Dr. Peter Hawkes, former neighbor, friend and now dean of ESU\u2019s College of Arts and Sciences said, \u201cWhat made Strauser the most beloved artist in the Pocono Mountains?\u00a0 Was it his huge productivity that allowed so many to own his works? His unstinting promotion of other artists?\u00a0 His magnetic personality? Probably it was all these things. He was a kind, big-hearted man who seemed to inspire anyone he met.\u201d\u00a0 Hawkes added that even though Strauser died in 1995, those who still remember him couldn\u2019t be happier that ESU will build a Gallery that will exhibit his works two blocks from where they were produced.\u00a0 Now housed in a temporary location, The Sterling Strauser Gallery will have a permanent home in ESU\u2019s Keystone Center, when construction of Phase I is completed in 2015.<\/p>\n
Immediately following the reception and brief program on June 7, there will be an auction of Strauser and Strauser Circle works including art by Dorothy Strauser. Items being auctioned are paintings owned by local community members.\u00a0 Proceeds from the sale will be used by The Sterling Strauser Gallery to fund future acquisitions.<\/p>\n
Sterling Boyd Strauser (1907 \u2013 1995), whose German name means \u201cone who binds the flowers,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
Strauser\u2019s art is 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.<\/p>\n
In addition to his painting, Strauser served as a teacher and principal of the grade school in Mount Pocono from 1928 to 1929.\u00a0 He also worked at the International Boiler Works in East Stroudsburg where he began as a shipping clerk in 1930 and retired as company secretary in 1962.<\/p>\n
For more information about The Sterling Strauser Gallery or to register for\u201cThe Significance of Strauser\u201d event, please contact ESU\u2019s Division of Research and Economic Development at 570-422-7920.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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