Paintings and memories: Do you own any priceless art?

Posted By on July 11, 2020

Since I recently completed the bookshelves project this past spring and repainted our Library/Music room, Brenda and I have been discussing what artwork to put back on the walls. We’ve collected or have been given quite a few painting and likely will rotate them … but probably won’t include my favorites – the ones with special meanings.

RuthBluhm_BoysOnBeach1968

The special paintings to me mean little to other people (like this famous portrait), but because I remember and know where my grandmother painted them, they mean A LOT to me. They generally do not get placed in the “entry rooms”  of our house like the Library/Music, Foyer or Dining rooms, and end up in everyday spaces were I see them more often. One of them (above) is in our great room (family room) and was painted down the road from our house when I was a boy growing up on Lake Erie.

HouseBeachLagoonNewWall1967

My grandmother, Ruth Bluhm, painted it when staying at our house in the 1960s and I can remember her setting up her easel at the “Community Beach” while my brother and I were playing (boys on the beach). Like all artists, she used some discretion as to the surroundings so it’s not exactly as pictured (BTW, here is one of her first paintings).

Another favorite was mentioned before (also below) and was probably painted prior to 1965 because it is the front of our house looking out towards the lake and before a few updated. The willow tree to the right was just trimmed and the twin-trunk Maple tree in the center became our treehouse tree a couple years later. The seawall changed after the flood in 1966 so I can tell it was prior to that … and of course the treehouse is not there yet. The third photo was mentioned before and also holds a prominent location in my office (LINK).

RuthBluhm_TreehouseTreeLagoonDr1965

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