(1800s artist colony that was here)

In the mid-1800's, before this was a coal mining community, this was an artist colony in these woods. It doesn't feel like any accident that we are a part of that lineage.

(Farm At Scalp Level by George Hetzel)

THE WINDBER AUTUMN MONTHS LANDSCAPE SERIES
(A Collection of 12 murals by Sam Altercruz, inspired partially and in the tradition of the earlier 1800 Somerset landscape painters' Art Colony)

Many of you may not know this, but long before the area was a coal mining community, painters used to come out from Pittsburgh to Somerset County to participate in an artist's colony. This was in the 1800s. Famed artists like George Hetzel came here to paint because the scenery was so stunningly beautiful. These were landscape painters.

From Somerset County: Pride Beyond the Mountains by Jaclyn LaPlaca:

"Some of the first people attracted to the tamed Somerset County were artists compelled by the beauty of the Laurel Highlands region. Most of the initial artists settled in what is today called Paint Township, outside of Windber, and spent their days working on sketches and oil paintings of the region's lush forests and pastoral landscapes. Many of the artists built cottages, forming an art colony. When the author Charles Dickens visited the area in 1842, he described it as "a valley full of light and softness." Inan address marking the centennial celebration of the county in 1895, the Honorable William H. Koontz recalled that early pioneers, impressed by the abundance of natural meadows situated near the headwaters of many of its streams, had frequently and affectionately called Somerset County the 'Glades.'"

"One of the most famous artists to work in Paint Township woul dbe George Hetsel, and his followers, who worked in the area soon after the Cival War. Hetzel was a quiet man who loved the woods, wildflowers, animals, and the changing seasons of the year. He spent days walking, sketching, and painting the countryside. Landscape painting, which Hetzel was most well known for, began in the New World as a form of documentaion. Artists accompanied many of the early expeditions and brought back with them images of the immense countryside."

One quick biography from a painting market site describes Hetzel:

"George Hetzel was the leader of a small group of Pittsburgh artists who journeyed to Scalp Level, near Johnstown, to paint landscapes in the late 19th century. The mountain village served as a retreat for Pittsburgh artists who worked together painting en plein air, as did their French contemporaries at Barbizon. Hetzel's Woodland Scene is a detailed composition which conveys an atmosphere of deep shadows, textures, and reflected light. It is one of a series of his landscapes of Western Pennsylvania painted at Scalp Level."

"Born in France near Strasbourg, Hetzel moved to Pittsburgh with his parents at an early age. Between 1847 and 1849 the artist studied painting at the D¨1sseldorf Academy, where he developed a precisely realistic style reminiscent of the Barbizon painters of Fontainbleau. Throughout his career, he was acclaimed both as a portrait and a landscape artist. George Hetzel was one of three Pittsburgh artist to be represented at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. He also participated in the first International Exhibition at The Carnegie Institute in 1896, where a major retrospective of his work was presented in 1909. He is recognized as one of Pennsylvania's most significant artists. "


(Sam)

So, in the tradition of these earlier painters, painter Sam Altercruz relocated and moved into the Grand Midway Hotel last Fall, staying in room # 8, with the intention to create a series of landscape works. He completely took over the Mermaid Room, # 9, as a painting studio. The smell of oil paints and turpentine filled the halls. It was wonderful.

Sam would wake up early in the morning a rush out into the woods surrounding Windber to paint small sketches in the sunlight. Sam loved sunlight. It was chilly here in the mountains and the leaves were bursting with colors. His feet were so cold he fashioned together some kind of newspapers-tied-by-rope-thing to additionally coat his boots. It looked ridiculous. But he was on fire to paint and work every single day no matter what the conditions. Then he'd come home at the end of the day and cook up big pots of hot soup for all of us to share.

While here Sam created 30 paintings in thirty days. These were small abstracts. Many of them he painted out by the woods surrounding the old train graveyard.

He next relocated down South near Chattanooga, Tennessee. He used these 30 small Windber paintings as the blueprints for the series of larger murals he planned to create. It was his goal to paint 12 of them as large wall murals. He just called to say that he finished 3 of the murals, which took him ten weeks. The size of one was 5 x 15 foot. Sam is relocating again, somewhere to the New York area, looking for a large space he can complete the series.

Here are some additional George Hetzel paintings from that time period:


(Corduroy Road -Old Road, Scalp Level)


(Summer In Scalp Level)


(Forest Scene Mother and Child)