Several never-before exhibited paintings by Harlan Hubbard are among the artwork and memorabilia displayed in Behringer-Crawford Museum’s latest salute to the famed Northern Kentucky artist, author and shanty boater.
The new paintings are a portion of a recent bequest from the estate of Mia Cunningham, a close friend of Hubbard and his wife, Anna. Cunningham was the author of the biography, Anna Hubbard: Out of the Shadows, which was published in 2001 to critical acclaim.
Also in the exhibit are oils, watercolors and woodcuts from BCM’s Harlan Hubbard collections, his brother Frank’s sketchbooks and his mother Rose’s diaries. Two models of Hubbard’s shantyboat, including one crafted by the artist himself, are also displayed, along with vintage photographs of the Hubbards at Payne Hollow, their rustic home along the Ohio River in Trimble County, KY, where they subsisted off the land for more than 40 years. Visitors can also view “Wonder,” a celebrated documentary about the Hubbard’s lives.
According to BCM Curator of Collections Jason French, the current exhibit, a small sampling of Behringer- Crawford’s extensive Hubbard collections, will remain on display through mid-summer. Plans are the works for a permanent Hubbard gallery at the museum, which also hopes to publish audiobook versions of several of Hubbard’s books.
Behringer-Crawford Museum is located in Covington’s Devou Park, 1600 Montague Rd., Covington. Hours are Tuesday-Saturday: 10 a.m.- 3:30 p.m.; Sunday: 1-3:30 p.m. Closed Mondays and national holidays. Admission is free for BCM members, $9 for adults, $8 for seniors 60+, $5 for children ages 3-17 and free for children two and under. Wednesdays are Grandparents Days: one grandchild admitted free with each paying grandparent.
Masks are required for all visitors and staff and social distancing is enforced. Hand sanitizer stations are located throughout the museum.
Behringer-Crawford Museum is supported in part by its members, the City of Covington, Kenton County Fiscal Court, ArtsWave, Kentucky Arts Council, Kentucky Humanities, the Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame and The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr. Foundation. For more information about BCM, call (859) 491-4003, email info@bcmuseum.org or visit the website.
