Carnegie Hall’s January/February ArtWalk Exhibits continue with three galleries showcasing the works of regional artists. The Museum Gallery (adjacent to the Hamilton Auditorium) features Carl Frederick Gaertner Retrospective – “The Spirit of Place.”
Experience the first retrospective solo exhibition of Carl Frederick Gaertner (1898–1952) in over twenty years—and the very first in West Virginia. A nationally recognized painter from Cleveland, Ohio, Gaertner is celebrated for his evocative depictions of industrial landscapes, rural life, and transitional moments in art and society.
Gaertner’s connection to West Virginia is rooted in his travels with William Grauer, the artist behind The Greenbrier’s iconic President’s Cottage murals. During his time in the Greenbrier Valley, Gaertner created numerous sketches, studies, and paintings that captured the region’s geography and daily life. These works, alongside pieces inspired by his home in Chagrin Valley, Cleveland’s industrial scenes, and trips to Cape Cod and New York, reflect his ability to portray a sense of place across diverse settings.
Curated by Gaertner’s granddaughter and West Virginia resident Erin Gaertner, in collaboration with Carnegie Hall’s Education Director Harmony Flora, this exhibition brings together family-held works, artifacts, and prize-winning pieces from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s May Shows. Visitors will see never-before-exhibited works and a remarkable homecoming of Gaertner’s Greenbrier Valley art, displayed in the region for the first time since their creation.
Carl Gaertner was born in Cleveland, OH on April 18, 1898. He attended the Cleveland School of Art, now known as the Cleveland Institute of Art, from 1920 to 1922. Gaertner taught at the Cleveland School of Art from 1925 until his death in 1952. He was highly respected and an influential teacher at this institution. While his early work focused on his surroundings in Cleveland, he soon began to travel and gained interest and inspiration from Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Cape Cod, and New York. Though he garnered much attention for his industrial landscapes, he has also captured the world of agriculture through his depiction of hard work with sloping, mountainous backgrounds. He died unexpectedly on November 4, 1952, at his home in Cleveland.
Carl Gaertner: The Spirit of Place, reflects on Gaertner’s work documenting Appalachian life and landscapes. As an outsider, it is not as easy task to capture the essence of the Appalachian people, but Gaertner was able to do so with empathy, understanding, and grace that felt more comforting than critical.
The Carnegie Hall ArtWalk is scheduled for Saturday, February 8, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. ArtWalk events are free and offer visitors the opportunity to explore a wide variety of original works by local and regional artists, all set in a world-class historical venue.
The exhibits are free and open to the public, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and run through the end of December. For more information, please visit carnegiehallwv.org, call 304-645-7917, or stop by the Hall at 611 Church Street, Lewisburg.
Carnegie Hall programs are presented with financial assistance through a grant from the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History and the National Endowment for the Arts, with approval from the West Virginia Commission on the Arts.
