BEFORE CONSERVATION

 

An Ozarks native of Christian County, Howard Garrison was a colorful character. He is remembered most as a bootlegger and as a businessman, perhaps most importantly as the first owner of the Ozarks landmark known as the Riverside Inn, which he designed, built, and decorated after purchasing five acres of land along Finley Creek. However, as illustrated by these paintings, Garrison should also be remembered as a painter of Impressionist-style “Outsider Art.”

“Outsider Art” is defined as that by self-trained individuals rather than those formally trained in fine art; it is often made by people on the fringes of society and/or who are regionally isolated. Howard Garrison lived in the Ozarks region of Missouri, which was quite isolated during his lifetime, but he was also very interested in attracting more people to the Ozarks. In this he was relatively successful, as his Riverside Inn became an area attraction that brought famous figures such as Harry S. Truman to the region. As the Inn grew in reputation, Garrison added onto the building, expanding to accommodate large groups of people, and he filled the interior of the Inn with his own hand-painted murals.

This painting, informally entitled Landscape of River with Terrace and Surrounding Forest with Willow Trees, is one of what appears to be a series of seven paintings of similar size that were donated to the Christian County Museum. The painting illustrates a lush landscape around a stone terrace decorated with vases of flowers and that is enclosed by a balustrade, except for a set of steps that leads down to the river. The Riverside Inn incorporated a conglomeration of architectural styles, and some have suggested that this painting may have portrayed Garrison’s vision for future expansion of the Inn.

This series of paintings also indicates that, while Garrison was not trained in fine art, he developed an understanding of color and of how to blend paint, as the paintings are not muddy but incorporate many tints and shades in vibrant hues. Garrison also demonstrates a good understanding of atmospheric perspective in the paintings, with less detail in the background and the use of greenish and bluish hues—cooler colors that make those areas seem to recede–while warmer, yellow-green hues make the foreground seem to advance toward the viewer. Garrison’s gestural brushstrokes and impasto technique, using thick applications of paint, appear to indicate that he was familiar with fine art of the late 19th century and suggest that this series of paintings perhaps pays homage to the Impressionist art movement.

AFTER CONSERVATION

 

 

For more information, you may contact the researcher(s) noted in the title of this exhibit entry, or Dr. Billie Follensbee, the professor of the course, at BillieFollensbee@MissouriState.edu