AKRON - The Akron Area Arts League is sponsoring an art exhibit featuring the works of the late George C. Baum Saturday and Sunday at the Akron Carnegie Public Library.
Hours for the exhibit are from 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday and at a 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday reception.Baum's only grandchild, Helen Irelan Troyer, Huntington, will attend. Dr. Timothy Reed and flutist Sarah Curry, Manchester College, will provide music.
Thirty-three paintings, most personal gifts from Baum, have been loaned for the exhibit. Three painting are for sale.
Baum was born in Sweetser but spent most of his life in the Akron and Rochester area. His Akron Grain and Lumber Co. merged with the Haldeman Elevator Co. to form Haldeman-Baum Co. He was married to Golda and they were the parents of two daughters, Helen, who became an elementary school teacher, and Elizabeth, an artist, never married, who resides in an assisted living facility near San Francisco.
Elizabeth studied at Indiana University and the beauty of the rolling hills of Brown County inspired much of both father and daughter's paintings. In 1944 they built a cabin on Artist Drive east of Nashville, which became their studio and in 1958 the Baums became permanent residents.
George Baum died in 1974 at the age of 89. He was preceded in death by his wife, Golda, daughter Helen and son-in-law, Charles.
During his lifetime he was represented in the Northern Indiana Art Salon, Hoosier Salon, Indiana Artist Club and was a life member of the Brown County Art Gallery. He had exhibits in Logansport, South Bend, Rochester and Fort Wayne. His oils are primarily impressionist landscapes and still life arrangements.
The exhibit is funded in part by the Northern Indiana Community Foundation and the Indiana Arts Commission.
For more information, contact Karen Camp Drone, 574-598-2875 or e-mail karensc@rtcol.com
