entries accepted

   One artist creates from materials and keeps it out of public view. Another artist looks for places where his work can be seen by others. He may enter his work into a "no jury" exhibition, where "everything" is accepted, and no entry is rejected. He may pay money to be part of a group that will show his work on a rotating basis. These opportunities are valid and have their place. Getting exposure in public is important if you want others to know what kind of art you do, and gain collectors for your work. But the artist who submits his work into a "juried" competition has his work measured by certain standards, looked over and judged by a jury of professionals in a given field. That work is then included in a group with other accepted works or is turned down and returned to its creator. Risk is involved. There are forms to fill out, shipping expenses, and usually a fee for entry. But those works accepted into a juried exhibition are given special recognition for their skill.

   In 1929 Fred Geary had two watercolors accepted in a juried exhibition. Entries came in from the Midwest region, including Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Colorado. Two hundred and ninety-three entries were accepted by the jury. And about the same number of other entries were turned away. The Kansas City Art Institute hosted the event and acquired art department directors from Colorado, Nebraska, and Oklahoma to do the judging. Categories included oil paintings, watercolors, sculpture, metalwork, jewelry, terracotta, textile decoration, batik, leather work and book binding, and prints created by dry point, etching, lithograph, linoleum cuts, and woodcuts.

   In 1931 Geary had his first woodcut accepted in the exhibition. Since the annual exhibitions began in 1922, it is likely that Geary saw woodcuts made by other print makers from the previous years. He may have talked to and become friends with some of them. Here is a list of those print makers, the specific print medium entered, and accepted titles. When possible I have included a link or example of a work by that print maker.

Who influenced Geary has yet to be determined. But it is known that in the Middle West region many people were producing woodcut entries. Click on images to see them larger.

The Railroads - left leaf of book liner

The Railroads - right leaf of book liner

Sheila Ellsworth Burlingame (1894-1969) was a painter, block printer, and later a sculptor. Her given address was 3664 Washington Ave, St. Louis, Missouri. She had TEN ACCEPTED WOODCUTS in the 1922 exhibit. Those included Waterfall, Sketch, The Matador, Tight Rope Artist, Cinderella, Adam and Eve, The Siesta, Snake Charmer, Between Acts, Sun Dancer.

Her "Sun Dancer" received a Gold Medal for Graphic Arts from the KCAI Guild, and was owned by Mary Powell of St. Louis.

Front Cover- Woodcut

Back Cover -Woodcut

A sample of her woodcuts can be seen in "From The Day's Journey" by Harry Rosecrans Burke, published in 1924 by the William Harvey Miner Company. Block images ranged in size from 5 1/2" by 4 1/2 inches to 11 by 16 inches.

        William Marion Reedy 
        A Portrait Study - woodcut (p.48)

       Midsummer Night 
       And A Slum  
       excerpt from Harold Burke (p. 76)

         Garden Glimpse 
         An Impression - woodcut (p.60)

       Nocturne 
       In Black And Gold 
       excerpt from Harold Burke (p.31)

             The Pain Killer - woodcut (p.30)

Burlingame created woodcuts for the St. Louis Dispatch newspaper from 1923 - 1924, according to Susan V. Craig, Art librarian of the University of Kansas.(accessed Friday, September 10th, 2010 from http://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/dspace/bitstream/1808/1028/1/BDKAversion1.pdf.)

(woodcut image courtesy of Jason D. Stratman, Assistant Reference Librarian, Missouri History Museum, St. Louis, MO, received by mail November 2, 2010)

(above text courtesy of Jason D. Stratman, Assistant Reference Librarian, Missouri History Museum, St. Louis, MO, received by mail November 2, 2010) 

Harry Muir Kurtzworth (1887-1979) had one xylograph (or woodcut) accepted in the 1922 show entitled "Quietude," along with two pastels. He served as director of the Kansas City Art institute from 1922 to 1924. FIVE of his color wood block prints were accepted in the 1919 exhibition with twenty-two American Artists at the Detroit Institute of The Arts. ("A History Of Community Achievement, 1885-1964," courtesy of Jannes Library, Kansas City Art Institute, 4538 Warwick Boulevard, Kansas City, MO, accessed Saturday, October 9th, 2010; Detroit Institute, accessed Friday, September 10th, 2010)

Sven Birger Sandzen (1871-1954) of Lindborg, Kansas had three lithographs in the 1922 show. His piece, Grand Canyon, was awarded the J.C. Nichols Purchase Prize for Graphic Arts.

Loran Frederick Wilford (1893 - 1972) had two linoleum cuts accepted, The Old Tavern, Going To The Market. The latter was awarded the Silver Medal for Graphic Arts, 1922. His given address was 4115 Forest Avenue, Kansas City.

1923
Anderson Craig,
2020 Tracy, Kansas City
     Wood Block
Ferdinand E. Warren 
3842 E. Tenth St, Kansas City
    Palisades-wood block
    The Bridge-wood block
    The Old Mill-wood block
awarded KCAI Bronze Medal for Graphic Arts, 1923
Margaret Whittemore (1897-1983), 

1615 College Ave, Topeka, KS
     Pueblo Indians-wood block

1924

Leo Courtney, Wichita, KS
     Dusk---wood block $4
     River---wood block $5
    The Hilltop--wood block $5
Henri W. Domshydt, 

302 Patterson Block, Omaha, NE
     Marshal Foch---linoleum cut
Vera B. Leeper, 

316 W. 14th St, New York City
     The Pool----block print $10
Ferdinand E.Warren,
1020 Chestnut St, Kansas City, MO
     Visitation Church----woodcut $10
     Sebree Bridge----woodcut $7.50

Charles Wilimovsky,
1840 Blue Island Ave, Chicago, Ill
    2 oils, 4 etchings
    The Fisherman's Shack---linoleum cut,
    awarded 1924 Purchase Prize for Black and White
    The Chicken Barn----linoleum cut $10

1926
Herschel C. Logan  (1901-1987)
C.A. Seward
Ferdinand E. Warren
KCAI Instructor for etching Adolphe W. Blondheim


1927
Walter Bailey,
Art Dept. Kansas City Star
     The Old Swimming Hole---etching
     Snow Capped Mountain---linoleum print
George L. Cartlich,
3116 Flora Ave, Kansas City, MO
     The Wharf---Linoleum Print
     Just Where Is This---Linoleum Print
William Dickerson, Wichita
     The Book Shop---Linoleum Print
David F. Leavitt,
North 12th Blvd, St. Louis, MO
     Book-plate---Linoleum Print
     Enchantment---Linoleum Print
     Self-Portrait---Linoleum Print
     C.C.Frederick---Linoleum Print
Herschel C. Logan, Wichita
     Deserted Barn---woodcut
     Mexican Farmyard---woodcut
     Church in The Valley---woodcut
     Old Mission, Rancos de Taos--- woodcut-bronze Medal
C.A.Seward, Wichita
     Canada Goose---lithograph
     Old Willow---lithograph
     Big Pines--Raton Pass---Block Print
     Toadstool Rock-Santa Fe---Lithograph_Silver Medal(
scroll down on this link site for his Toadstool Rock lithograph)
KCAI Instructor for etching Anthony Angarola (1893-1929)

1928 KCAI instructors the year Geary may have enrolled when the school was at 3500 Warwick Blvd.
Anthony Angarola-Life painting and portraiture drawing
John D. Patrick----Drawing, Advanced Antique
Austin Ketcham---Design and Cast Drawing
W.W.Rosenbauer--Sculpture and Crafts
Russel M. Wise--Interior Decoration

1928
3500 Warwick Blvd., Kansas City, MO
Rosa Bear,
2620 West 32nd Ave, Denver, Colo.
     The Silent Mill---Linoleum Print
Albert Benson,
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
     Landscape Sketch---Drypoint etching
     East 39th Street, New York---Aquatint
Ivan Cloud, Kansas City, MO
     Chivary---Block Print
Leo Courtney
     Shadows---Woodcut
     Afterglow---Woodcut
     Winter---Color Print
     The Homestead---Woodcut wins Bronze Medal award
William J. Dickerson, Wichita, Kansas
     The Sand Boat---Woodcut
Alice R. Edmiston,
1900 South 40th Street, Lincoln, Nebraska
     Wharf of Provinceton---Woodcut
     Lake Como, Italy---Woodcut
Mercedes Erixon,
Norman, Oklahoma
     Gurgling Water---Woodcut
     Summer Sunlight---Woodcut
Herschel C. Logan
    The Weaver---Woodcut
    Lost Hope---Woodcut

1929
When the school was at 4415 Warwick Blvd. 293 entries were chosen. Here are the relief prints.

Ina Annette--
University of Oklahoma, Norman, OKL
(Student of Birger Sandzen )


       Elephant's Feet---Linoleum Cut
       Desert Derelicts---Woodcut
       Monumental Valley---Woodcut
Click on Sheep Ranch to see another sample of her work.

Helen Louise Beccard (Niles)
3024 Walton Place, St. Louis, MO
    Sicilian Road---Linoleum Print
    Old Slave Quarters---Linoleum Print
George Randall Brubaker (1908-1977)
1308 Massachusetts Street, Lawrence, KS
      "Old Tenements"---Woodcut
      pencil-signed and titled, size 11 in. x 8 in.
Ben Albert Benson.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
     Buck In The Snow---Drypoint Etching
     Silhouette---Drypoint Etching
Sheila Burlingame
     Spring---Oil painting
     The Surf---Woodcut
     Design---Woodcut

Leo Courtney
     City Hall---Woodcut
William J. Dickerson
     Study---Woodcut
Birger Sandzen
Lindsborg, Kansas
     watercolor, lithograph, drypoint
C.A. Seward

1534 North Holyoke, Wichita, Kansas

     two lithos, one color litho

David Spivak

Artists Guild 

1421 Court Place, Denver, Colorado
     Castle Rock--woodcut
     The Grove--woodcut

    

(List from "Midwestern Artists Exhibition, Kansas City: Kansas City Art Institute, 1920-1942," Mines, Cynthia, courtesy of Missouri Valley Special Collections, Kansas City Public Library, 14 West 10th St, Kansas City, MO, accessed June 24th, 2010)

self taught

"At the age of 35 Fred Geary taught himself the art of xylography without guidance from outside of one or two books at first." (Dienes, 1946) Others did the same thing. Like Paul Landacre, Lionel Lindsay, as well as Thomas W. Nason, who were later commissioned by the Woodcut Society to do prints.
Nason wrote something about his learning curve. I would like to think that Fred Geary had a similiar experience. With that, here is what Thomas Nason of New England wrote: "I am always perplexed by the question, so often asked, as to how I happened to take up wood-engraving. It is difficult to give a satisfying answer. In the early twenties, I became aware of an increasing interest in wood-engravings, based mainly on seeing them used as book decorations
and magazine illustrations. These
prints, done for the most part in a bold and effective manner with rich blacks and sparkling whites, appealed to me very strongly. I seemed to see great possibilities in the medium for personal art expression. In 1922, I made my first wood-engraving, which was more of a laboratory experiment than anything else.

The decision was soon reached that I would never find it particularly thrilling to cut away the wood around the lines on the block simply to reproduce my drawing. But I was exceedingly interested in engraving extemporaneously directly on the block with a smooth-cutting engraver's tool which would go in any direction with equal freedom and which would cut a fine line or a broad one with much the same movement. I found this kind of engraving on wood a creative process within itself. As I became familiar with the use of the burin on boxwood and perfected my knowledge of printing from engraved blocks, the fascination of the process really got hold of me.


But my progress was slow. I produced a few blocks each year but continued to engrave them purely as a avocation; constantly experimenting, and striving to improve both my technique and composition...I do not know exactly how many have succeeded it but I do know that each one has presented an individual problem and that the final result is always a matter of conjecture. The first trial proof always brings a moment of keen anticipation and excitement --and often brings disappointment." Thomas W. Nason

(courtesy of the Missouri Valley Special Collections, Kansas City Public Library, 14 West 10th Street, Kansas City, MO, accessed Sunday, March 21, 2010)
(To the left are close up shots of a 5 by 8 inch House print by Fred Geary)
House by Fred Geary. Image size 4 by 5 3/4 inches. Fred Geary Print Collection, Carrollton Public Library, 1 North Folger Street, Carrollton, Missouri, United States

For more on Nason, click HERE

picture across the room

I walk into my local library, and over there in the corner I come face to face with a black and white image on cream colored paper. It is not a drawing. It is not a Photo Shop concoction. It is not painted. It is not a watercolor. What am I looking at? Four things come to mind. First, there is excavation involved. Think about scratches dug into plank of wood. Second, there are steps followed each time an image is made. And after all those steps are carried out the image can be seen. Third, there are particular steel tools used. Fourth and lastly, the artist must give it her approval. It must measure up. It must be dark enough, light enough. Without the approval of the artist, the print is worthless. It usually has a signature in pencil at the edge of the print.

An inked print is not a xerox, not a mechanical multiple, not a photocopy. It is labored over, fretted over, and deemed as a precious, glorious creation.

To gain some appreciation for Geary's craftsmanship, I have taken some close ups of his Bullfight scene courtesy of the Carrollton Public Library. and added some of my own comments.(left) See the bullfighter. The solid black background is black ink rolled onto a wood plank. Paper is placed on the inked wood.The back of the paper is rubbed down. The paper is pulled up off the plank and the image transfers to the paper. Now, the white area around the bullfighter has been dug out of the wood, extracted. If you look at the outline of the bullfighter's head and shoulder, you will see tiny white lines. Those are scratches into the wood. Look at his cape. Those cross hatched white lines are scratches into the wood. The dark areas are not scratched or left alone.

The next closeup (right) is an arena in shadow. The railing, the people seated, the columns of the balcony are tiny thin scratches on the plank of wood.


(left)
The thick horizontal line at the top is the edge of the print. There is a flag, two open arches, the hint of a wall, and horizontal lines up in the sky. The two open arches are dug out of the plank. The white area around the thin flagstaff and flag are dug out of the plank. The horizontal lines in the sky represent atmosphere, perhaps clouds.


The thick border (right) is the edge of the print. The white columns and railing are precisely plowed out from the plank with a steel tool. The seated figures are both silouette and have tiny scratches. See the atmosphere created above.

(left) The word "Caudrillas" had to be carved in reverse, because the printed image is all in reverse. So, if you have words in your design they need to be in reverse when you dig in the wood.




(right) There are various kinds of texture. Some shadows are solid black. Some have parallel lines. Other areas are solid white.

(left) The bull is a solid silouette shape in black. Tiny thin scratches create the impression of muscles. Cross hatching along the edge of the bull's shadow softens the edge of that shadow. Many details that don't just happen, the wood engraver puts them exactly as they are. To add to this discussion and give some insight to this medium I have asked Abigail Rorer to share her thoughts.

KM: If you would, please: Say something about the discipline required to do wood-engraving or woodcuts. As an artist in that medium, what problems are there to solve?

AR: I am a wood engraver. Wood engraving is a finer medium than the woodcut in that you get a lot more detail because you use the endgrain of a hard wood like boxwood or maple and you use engraving tools such as the burin and graver instead of curved gouging tools. It is a relief medium because the ink is rolled out on the surface then printed. Some of the issues that need to be decided as one engraves are working out textures and image edges with white lines or black lines, whether to stipple or cross-hatch and basically remember that everything taken away will print white. It is a very exacting and slow process and requires a steady hand and sharp tools. It is also very meditative when one is engraving.

KM: What problems do the handling of the tools or materials present?

AR: As mentioned before, your tools need to be sharp or you will slip all over the place. Plus the tools need to be adjusted to fit your hand. It takes a lot of practice to get to the point of a sure and steady hand. Everyone slips and there are various methods of repairing those errors depending on the extent of the mistake. Sometimes the wood will warp so you have to store the wood carefully. You also need to wear a magnifier because the lines are so fine. Printing the engraving also presents a lot of issues. It can be done by hand (rather difficult) or with a press. The main thing is not to fill the very fine lines with ink and to get a nice solid black.

KM: Unlike drawing, where you can immediately put down your impressions on paper, how do you go about creating a design and work it out on the wood surface?

AR: I work out the composition before hand, transfer the sketch to the block, then use pen & ink to complete the drawing on the block. I then tone the block with a sepia ink so that, when engraving, any lines that I cut will show up lighter than the block and I can see what I'm doing.

KM: Myself, generally, I paint rather quickly and prefer not to stretch the project out forever. It is my understanding that an engraver is in it for the long haul. I am guessing you don't jot scribbles down and willy-nilly scratch random marks, and then say "Good, I'm done with that." Am I right?

AR: Every engraver is different - there are some that engrave as you describe above - quickly jot down a rudimentary sketch then engrave in a free-form manner. I am totally the opposite - my engravings are extremely detailed and I am in it "for the long haul" as you say.

KM: How, then, is an engraving different from crayon scribbles on paper?

AR: The discipline, limitations of the medium, and the skills needed to get an image on paper; it's time-consuming and requires a lot of practice.

KM: In an other example, I tell my students at school that I am always doing "homework" on my paintings. They look at me funny, like grown ups don't do homework like they do, but, really, we as artists do, don't we? Not settling for a ho-hum presentation, but that which stretches and builds up our skills.

AR: I guess you could call it "homework" but it's almost like "life's work" in that we live and breathe our work 24 hours a day almost. If not doing it, then we're thinking about it or constantly observing, however unconsciously, the world about us and getting inspiration, and we're always perfecting our skills and technique.


KM: To make this kind of art, Geary followed certain steps, used steel tools, and spent lots of time digging in wood to make each print. Abigail, where can people go to see more of the wood engraving you do?

AR: My website is: www.theloneoakpress.com


Bullfight by Fred Geary. Image measures 8 by 11 1/2 inches. Printed on yellow-tinted paper. Courtesy of the Fred Geary Print Collection, Carrollton Public Library, 1 North Folger Street, Carrollton, Missouri

who?

Who can track the life of an artist? Who would want to? An artist's life is FLUID. This much can be said about Fred Geary. He worked in Kansas City. He was active in the art community of the Fine Art Institute, which always consisted of a pocket of people doing, learning, teaching art. The structure of that institution changed location through the years, but at its core, it was people lending a hand to build, encourage, share "what you know" with another, have moments of "creating art apart from the community," and then rejoining, sharing, and expounding on each other's work, critiquing as it were, laughing, hanging out, being a part, being affiliated with relationships. (Below photo, west side of Kansas City, near Alta Vista, where The Kansas City Society of Artists once met--future post is promised)

Records are scarce. WHO was in WHAT group? WHERE did they gather? All very fluid. The artist's life. Here, Geary's name is given credit for the Institute Brochure, when the school was still at the Phil R. Toll home, on the southwest corner of Warwick and Armour Boulevards.

"Interest in the Art Institute was increasing, as was enrollment. In 1922, a brochure listed classes in design, illustration, interior decorating, costume design, fashion, wood carving, drawing, lettering, commercial art, sculpture and industrial art. There were also special classes in jewelry, home crafts such as batik, gesso, lamp shades, ceramics, weaving, basketry. The catalogue was profusely illustrated with examples of student art including work by Ruth Alexander, Illah Marion Kibbey, Lora Wilkins, Fred Geary, Doris Prat, Gene Thornton, Leroy D. MacMoris, L.F. Wilford, Delle Miller. Costs were day classes, per week, $3.50; evening classes, per week, $1.50; children's classes, Saturdays, 50 cents; holiday classes Sunday mornings, 60 cents." (A History of Community Achievement 1885-1964 by Mazee Bush Owens and Frances S. Bush, page 9, accessed from Jannes Library, Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010).

Geary took part in the Midwestern Artist Exhibitions in 1929, 1931, 1932, 1934, 1936, 1939, 1941, and 1942 (Midwestern Artists' Exhibition of 1928 by Cynthia Mines, Kansas City Art Institute, 1920-1942, accessed from Kansas City Public Library, accessed Saturday, February, 20th, 2010).

He was the treasurer of the Kansas City Society of Artists in 1933.(Fred Geary, Missouri Wood Engraver by E.H. Deines, 1946, unpublished, page three, courtesy of Ms. Jane Metz and the Carrollton Public Library, Carrollton, MO, accessed January 10, 2010)

All the while he was rooted in daily graphic art assignments through the Fred Harvey Company at the UNION STATION where he has his studio. (Below photo, printed label of his studio location, attached to backside of framed print in Carrollton Public Library,
Fred Geary collection)


It's like the "Missouri Art Icon," Thomas Hart Benton. It is a given that Benton talked with students in his painting class while at the Kansas City Art Institute. He listened to the ideas of fellow faculty members. He invited persons of like-minded interest over to his house for social interaction. He was on the same committee as Geary when Graphic Art entries were being selected for the 1939 World's Fair held in New York City. Still, it is difficult to peer into "the-unseen-world-of-artists-forming-relationships" and then "map out" how they grew in their own work because of their interactions with those they admire. Geary had this, I am sure. This blog will explore the facets it can find. The rest of it will be left to another to find, to savor, and publish his or her findings.

K.M.

Harvey Company artist

"..the work at Harvey's called for versatility - depiction in black and white as well as color on extremely varying scales. Sometimes it dealt with historical material or such rich lore as is particularly related to the great Southwest, most of which lent itself to the style of publicity and promotional schemes the Harvey concern aimed to feature." (Fred Geary, Missouri Wood Engraver by E.H. Deines, 1946, unpublished, page two, courtesy of Ms. Jane Metz and the Carrollton Public Library, Carrollton, MO, accessed January 10, 2010)

Postcard graphic (left) by Fred Geary (double click on image to enlarge)

Second postcard image, click HERE.
Geary worked as a commercial art illustrator for the Fred Harvey Company at the Union Station Terminal (below), Kansas City, MO

"He was employed in the art department... a position held immediately after art school days were over. There the assignments ranged from decorative motifs used on candy boxes, vividly ornamented menu cards, boldly designed playing-card backs, (and later) to murals in the topmost section of a stone tower marking a Grand Canyon tourist attraction." (Fred Geary, Missouri Wood Engraver by E.H. Deines, 1946, unpublished, page two, courtesy of Ms. Jane Metz and the Carrollton Public Library, Carrollton, MO, accessed January 10, 2010)

Harvey artist Fred Geary worked with Mary Colter on at least four buildings, including the Desert View Watchtower in Grand Canyon National Park. (KCHistory, www.kchistory.org, accessed Sunday, May 23, 2010)

The following information all comes from this source: Berke, Arnold. Mary Colter: Architect of the Southwest. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2002. (My Hero, www.myhero.com, accessed Sunday, May 23, 2010)

"The execution of Colter's concept of decorating with sand painting unfolded as a sometimes touchy cultural ballet. The search for paintings that would accurately represent the Navajo ritual works led her and Huckel to Sam Day, Jr, a well-known Indian trader in St. Michaels, Arizona, who had developed a close and knowledgeable relationship with the Navajos. Day supplied them with eighty-four watercolors of sand paintings made by four Navajo singers from 1902 to 1905. From these, Harvey Company artist Fred Geary, aided by prominent Navajo medicine man Miguelito, who had worked for Harvey at the 1915 San Diego and San Francisco expositions, painted large copies of twelve of the sand paintings on El Navajo's walls." p.135-136. [El Navajo in Gallup, New Mexico, 1923.]








Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, As Seen by Trail and Drive. [Grand Canyon, AR]: Fred Harvey, [1927]. Art by Fred Geary.

"Hanging in each room was a picture of San Ysidro, the patron saint of farming and gardening, a hand-colored linoleum-block print created by Harvey artist Fred Geary that depicted the saint standing behind a plow with oxen and attended by guardian angels, conveying the essence of La Posada's make-the-desert-bloom aura." p.174-175. [La Posada in Winslow, Arizona, 1930.]

6 1/2 by 10 1/2 inch watercolor of southwest Indian by Fred Geary, no date (below).(courtesy of Carrollton Public Library, Carrollton, MO)












"Harvey artist Fred Geary painted the walls and ceilings of these galleries, copying pictographs (images painted on rock) and petroglyphs from originals at sites in the Southwest that Colter had visited or studied. Here one encounters gods and monsters, humans, birds and animals (real and mythical), flowers, rainbows and other heavenly phenomena, geometric contrivances, and even handprints. The ceiling decoration over the upper level is an adaptation of rock paintings at the Abo caves in central New Mexico. Colter based the design on drawing that Herman Schweizer had made in 1908 on a trip to the caves (actually cliff alcoves). Among them is a thunder-bird he sketched that was adopted as a trademark by the Harvey Company and used on stationary and in company publications. On the stairwell to the third level are painting copied from pottery found at ruins of the Mimbres Indians in southwestern New Mexico." p. 204-205 [Desert View Watchtower, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, 1932.]

(Above) Sample of bright-colored Geary watercolor (courtesy of Carrollton Public Library, Carrollton Missouri, accessed May 15, 2010)
"Once again Colter brought in Harvey artist Fred Geary, this time to paint designs in turquoise, magenta, deep purple, orange, and green between the layers of double-glazed windows. The panes washed the lounge in the afternoon with tinted sunlight." p.247-248 [La Cocina Cantina, the new cocktail lounge at the Alvarado Hotel, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1940.](Email from Betty Betty Upchurch, Librarian, Grand Canyon National Park Research Library, Grand Canyon, Wednesday, May 19th, 2010)

I believe more could be documented about Geary's work for the Harvey Company. Suffice it to say here, that he was, in fact, on the art department staff in Kansas City. This particular blog will focus on the history of his wood engravings. That said, the following email suggests that Geary was very mobile. Train travel on the Santa Fe routes was as important back then as the super highway we call the "Internet" today.

"I do not know if Fred Geary had a residence in Arizona or not. However, I do know that Mary Colter had a residence in Kansas City, but was almost never home. She was constantly on the Santa Fe trains or staying in Fred Harvey hotels the entire time she worked for the company. Possibly, Fred Geary had a similar arrangement and lived in the Harvey hotels."
(Email from Betty Upchurch, Librarian, Grand Canyon National Park Research Library, Wednesday, May 19th, 2010)

Pueblo image by Fred Geary, click HERE
-------------------------------------------


For those that missed the original C-SPAN2 Book TV broadcasts, author Stephen Fried's presentation on "Appetite for America: How Visionary Businessman Fred Harvey Built a Railroad Hospitality Empire That Civilized the Wild West" is now available online via streaming video by clicking the video link in the upper right column of that page:
Click HERE to view Appetite For America - BookTV - C-Span Video Library (video is 49 minutes)

"(Mr) Harvey spent a enormous amount of his life on the road. He was a railroad-warrior. He was a freight agent for the railroad for almost twenty years, before he started the restaurant empire you all know him for."

Stephen Fried, adjunct journalism professor at Columbia University Graduate School, recounts the life of Fred Harvey, one of the earliest innovators of the American hospitality industry. Mr. Harvey, was the proprietor of sixty-five restaurants and lunch counters along the Santa Fe Railroad and several hotels from Chicago to Los Angeles. Mr. Fried examines how Fred Harvey's restaurant and hotel locations dovetailed with westward expansion and how the Harvey House became a part of the American lexicon and a precursor to today's fast food franchises. Stephen Fried discusses his book at Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri. (email link from Brian Kreimendahl, Edgewood, New Mexico, accessed Monday, April 19, 2010)

10 Great Places to follow Fred Harvey's Old West tracks, click HERE.