GPI donates artwork to Glacier Park
Glacier Park Inc. recently donated more than 20 historic paintings to the National Park Service with the caveat that the works continue to be displayed in Glacier National Park’s historic lodges.
The paintings were originally created for the Park’s hotels, motels and lodges and include pieces by John Fery, Frank Stick, R.H. Palenske, Charles Defeo and Richmond.
“We greatly appreciate the willingness of the National Park Service to ensure that the original paintings be displayed in the lodges and properties within Glacier National Park, as they were intended when the Hill Family of the Great Northern Railway commissioned the paintings in the early 1900s,” GPI vice president Ron Cadrette said.
The pieces were originally owned and/or commissioned by the Great Northern Railway, many depicting iconic scenes from in and around Glacier Park. The paintings originated between 1909 and 1915 and have been on display at Lake McDonald Lodge, Many Glacier Hotel, Rising Sun Motor Inn and the Two Medicine Campstore.
Most of the pieces are oil on canvas and range from 2.5-by-1.5 feet to nearly 6-by-12 feet. Some are by unknown artists. A plaque commemorating the donation will be placed by each painting.
The physical condition of some of the paintings caused a stir a few years ago. Art enthusiasts wanted the paintings removed so they could be cleaned and restored properly.
According to a 2005 Park Service report, several works need restoration and proper care, and nearly all need cleaning after accumulating grime, dirt and fly specks from being in dining rooms, lounges and hallways.
In 1910, Fery, a native of Austria, was hired by Hill for $200 a month. Fery was given a studio in St. Paul, Minn., a railroad pass and a modest living allowance, all in exchange for 14 paintings a month.
The artist spent the summer sketching and traveling the fledgling Park. He stayed with the railroad into 1913. By September that year, he had created 347 paintings for the railroad.
The average cost was about $32 apiece. Today a Fery in a private art gallery can fetch more than $50,000.
The 2005 report was critical of the location of one Fery painting, which hangs in the Rising Sun Coffee Shop and “is above the serving station to the kitchen and susceptible to food spilling and heat from the kitchen.” Another Fery suffered from “blooming,” caused by moisture getting under the varnish and clouding the artwork.
Xanterra Parks and Resorts, Inc. is now responsible for the care and maintenance of the paintings through their concessions contract.