Although artist Robert Kroeger lives in Cincinnati, he’s no stranger to the Mantua area, as he’s made several trips here to document local structures in oil. The artist is on a mission to create impasto oil paintings of historic barns before the structures succumb to time. He also meets with the owners to document the stories of these parts of history that dot our region and the nation’s landscape in increasingly fewer numbers. The stories and images have been recorded in two books by Kroeger – “Historic Barns of Ohio” and his newest endeavor, “Round Barns of America”.
Since he began this mission in the early 2000s, Kroeger regularly provides local historical societies with paintings that enable the organizations to auction them as fundraisers. This month, however, his painting will make an even greater impact. That’s because now through May 31st, 72 of his original barn paintings are available through an online auction. Proceeds from the auction will benefit the Hocking County Historical and Genealogical Society as well as several local historical societies.
In addition, Kroeger has provided six more paintings locally to benefit the Mantua Historical Society, Shalersville Historical Society, and Freedom Township Historical Society. Those paintings are on display at Restoration 44 Coffee Company until the end of the month, where raffle tickets are currently on sale.
For the opportunity to own a lovely work of art that’s also a piece of history, make sure to stop by R44 to purchase your ticket. And to access the online auction of 72 additional pieces, visit the online auction at Bidding Owl through May 31st at: biddingowl.com/Auction/index.cfm?auctionID=25249.
