The Bannerman Island Gallery located at 150 Main St. in Beacon, New York, will present an exhibition of historic works by renowned artist and illustrator John Fleming Gould (1906 – 1996), a former Cornwall, New York resident. A public opening reception for the exhibition will be held Saturday, April 13, from 4 to 6 p.m.
Presented by Gould’s son Robert Gould and his wife Loretta the exhibition will include some early pulp illustrations, original Hudson Valley paintings, pen and ink illustrations and many more historic scenes of New York. Prints and some original works will be for sale.
Gould had a long career, both as an artist and art instructor. He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, studied art and graduated from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and as an instructor at Pratt for 22 years. He was a prominent illustrator for the “Saturday Evening Post” and for many national corporations.
Gould’s oils, acrylics, watercolors, and pen and ink originals are in many private collections. He was partial to historical subjects, especially in the Hudson River Valley. For more than 20 years, Gould was an art consultant and illustrator for General Electric Company in Schenectady, and the Erie, Pennsylvania Locomotive Division. (His paintings of railroad subjects are known worldwide.) In 1957, Gould and wife Mary Gould established the Bethlehem Art Gallery in Cornwall where he also provided art instruction.
His popular illustration of Bannerman’s Castle actually has a very important role in the making of the Bannerman Castle Trust Inc. (BCT), a 501 (c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of Bannerman’s Island, its castle and structures.
In the early 1990s, actor/director and now Executive Director and Founder of the BCT, Neil Caplan, saw Gould’s illustration in a publication and became fascinated by the historic island. Realizing that the island would be a perfect place to repurpose as a place for public tours, concerts and theatrical events –Caplan approached the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and historic preservation and has been working collaboratively with them ever since.
The exhibition will run through Sunday, June 2. Gallery hours are Saturdays and Sundays, noon to 5 p.m. and weekday afternoons by chance and appointment.
