RADFORD – The work of a well-known post World War II naturalist artist is being featured at Glencoe Mansion, Museum and Gallery thanks to a generous gift by a local family.
Artist Ray Harm well-known for his depictions of wildlife, with a particular focus on birds. A native of Kentucky, Harm enrolled in art school on the GI Bill following his service in World War II.
“He began producing wildlife paintings that soon caught the attention of Wood Hannah, who worked with Harm to create limited edition runs of prints,” explained Scott Gardner, director of Glencoe and the Radford Heritage Foundation.
“This was a groundbreaking concept that has influenced countless subsequent artists,” writes Gardner. “Harm prided his paintings on the fact that they were based on real life sketches of animals instead of photographs.”
“This show and subsequent sales of prints have been made possible by the generous gift by Jon and Mary Wyatt of approximately 100 wildlife art prints by Ray Harm and other artists,” added Gardner, who explained the Wyatts made the gift “in memory of Jon’s parents Kathleen and Clifford Wyatt who were avid wildlife art collectors.”
“The gift is part of a complete collection of Ray Harm wildlife prints acquired during the 1960’s and 70’s when the Wyatts were concessionaires at Breaks Interstate Park,” he said.
The opening reception for the exhibit will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 17. The Ray Harm Nature Prints will be on display and available for purchase through November 1. All proceeds go to benefit the Glencoe Mansion, Museum and Gallery and Council Member Jessie Foster, who serves as city council’s representative on the Radford Heritage Foundation, encouraged the public to come see the exhibit and support the RHF by buying some of the art, noting there are prints priced as low as $40.
Gardner explained Sept. 17 “will be a day of celebration of art and birds for all ages.”
For adults, there will be an opening reception for the art show held from 5:30 to 6:30 pm. The reception will be followed by a special talk given by local birding expert Clyde Kessler entitled “Birds of the New River Region of Virginia.” The talk will begin at 6:45 pm.
For children, we’ll have a bird-friendly project to teach kids how to make Pine Cone Bird Feeders. This program will run from 4 to 5 p.m. To participate in the Bird Feeder project please contact the museum to sign up in advance.
