Portage County – Artist and barn aficionado Robert Kroeger, from Cincinnati, visited Portage County last week in order to tour some of the area’s notable historic structures. ‘Barn scout’ and Mantua resident Heather Paisley prompted the visit. Barns are near and dear to Paisley, who was raised on a 90-acre farm in Gustavus in Trumbull County. A lover of old barns, she reached out to Kroeger when she saw his work and learned that he was raised in Youngstown, making them “neighbors,” she joked. She learned that Kroeger sourced barns for his paintings through insight from local “barn scouts” and offered her services. That’s how the artist ended up touring six local barns on a bright fall day last week.
While in the area, Kroeger toured the bank barn owned by Mrs. Doreem Zitner, the carriage house owned by the Myers family, the Kropp barn (built in 1882), Olidine Alger’s barn (also built in 1882), the Piatt barn (circa 1875), and the Goodell farm. In addition, they stopped at the historic depot in Mantua, something Kroeger noted on his way into Mantua, before the tour concluded. Future visits are possible, since Portage and Geauga Counties are filled with historic structures.
A self-professed “missionary for old barns” Kroeger sees his role as capturing a piece of early American history. This mission began on an anniversary weekend in 2012, when he and his wife Laura stayed at a bed and breakfast in Licking County. On their way to the B&B, they happened upon what Kroeger called a “gentle gray giant”, an old gray barn with a sagging roof and warped siding. He noted, “I don’t know how or why, but the barn sent me a strong message: preserve my memory in a painting and an essay.”
He noted that as old barns disappear, part of Ohio’s once-familiar landscape, and a portion of our history, vanishes. By collecting the likeness and preserving the history of each structure, he hopes to share that history, as well as the ingenuity of the barn builders who made them, while the structures still remain.
That aging barn gave life to Kroeger’s mission to paint a historic barn in each of Ohio’s 88 counties. He began what he dubbed, “The Ohio Barn Project” that year. “As time passed, I visited many barns,” Kroeger marveled. “And thanks to many newspaper articles, I met the owners and heard their stories and learned much about early Ohio history.” Not formally trained as an artist, Kroeger learned from his father, a painter and commercial artist. He uses a palette knife in a technique called impasto painting, which results in a painting that can change as light bounces off the thick mounds and deep crevasses of paint.
Many of Kroeger’s paintings have been used to raise funds for local nonprofits across the State. In fact, local barn historian Judy Thornton joined the tour last week. Thornton, who compiled a book featuring the barns of Shalersville, accepted two such paintings on behalf of the Shalersville Historical Society. Like those received by Thornton, many of Kroeger’s paintings feature frames made from siding of the historic structure featured therein.
After logging thousands of miles across Ohio in trips similar to last week’s, the Barns of Ohio project was completed in 2019. It marked the first time that historic barns from each of Ohio’s 88 Counties have been highlighted as a whole. On April 30 & May 1, 2021, an exhibit of 88 of those paintings, one from each Ohio County, will be displayed. Fittingly, the event will take place at the historic Muhlhauser barn, a restored 1881 barn in West Chester Township near Cincinnati. The paintings will be auctioned for local nonprofits. A book based on this project, published by Arcadia Press, will also be available during the event.
While the Ohio Barn Project has been completed, this spring, Kroeger began a new project focused on round barns. Focusing on circular or polygonal historic structures in over 30 states, many of those he’ll represent are on the National Register of Historic Places.
He’s also painted many barns in Indiana and Kentucky, as well as in other states across the country. As is his practice, he’s written an essay about each of them, sharing what he learned about the individuals who built them and the families who’ve been their caretakers.
Those stories can be read in full at: www.barnart.weebly.com. For more information about Kroeger’s artistic endeavors, visit: www.robertkroeger.com.
