Pastel

1995

Technique: Pastel

Mount BaldheadOval BeachSaugatuck

11-1/2 in

14-1/2 in

Good

From “Keeping an Eye on History” at the OSH 2018 Mt. Baldhead George Brown oil pastel on canvas, ca. 1995 the story | Nothing contributed more to forming the Saugatuck area’s early identity as did the great dune called Mt. Baldhead—the summit of which provides both lake and village views. For years “Baldhead” was an open “living” dune subject to shifting sand and encroachment toward the Kalamazoo river. Fear of its blocking the channel and harbor led to the planting of trees and encircling it with fences to catch the sand blowing up from Lake Michigan. the art | The oft-painted view of the iconic radar station atop Mt. Baldhead from the east across the dunes from Saugatuck’s Oval Beach has long been a natural subject matter for Saugatuck’s landscape painters. (The Carl Forslund piece in this exhibition is another interpretation of this same scene.) the artist | George Brown took up painting after he retired as an executive at Ford Motor Company and operated a studio/gallery on Center Street in Douglas for several years in the late 1990s. His book An Artist’s Journey, published in 2013, is a brief illustrated history of how he became interested in painting. SDHC Collection, gift of Kenneth R. Carls and James A. Schmiechen Accession number 2018.13.02