Harvey Joiner is one of the most collected artists of Louisville, KY. He was born in Charlestown, IN. He studied with a noted German artist by the name of Hoffman in St. Louis for a time around 1874. At age sixteen he was known to have painted pictures of steamboats and the black workers along the Mississippi river. When he returned to this area, he lived in Jefferson, IN; and established a studio in what was then The Courier-Journal Building. He was commissioned to do portraits of the first five governors of Indiana. PROVENANCE Painting by Harvey Joiner, entitled "KENTUCKY BEECHWOODS AUTUMN" When Grace separated from Lorne and moved to Colburne Village, near Simcoe,
Ontario, Canada, around 1933, the painting accompanied her. Mary Lou moved to Woodstock, Ontario in 2001 and two years later decided to sell the painting to Higgins Maxwell Gallery, Louisville, Kentucky. This is as accurate as I am able to ascertain after talking to Ruth Reeker, the oldest previous owner alive as of this date, August 18th, 2003. Although the painting has traveled considerably, it has not been out of the family until it was sold August 7, 2003, to Mr. Robert Higgins .This biography was submitted by The Filson Historical Society, Inc.: At the age of 16, Joiner worked on boats on the bayous of Louisiana, where he completed sketches of African-American culture. In the spring of 1874 he met a German portrait painter named Hoffman in St. Louis, and became his assistant and pupil. In later years Joiner became an itinerant painter. Returning to Indiana, Joiner married Helen Annette Cain and established a home in Port Fulton, and a studio in Louisville, KY. Joiner was a prolific painter, completing more than 5,000 paintings by 1929. He concentrated on portraits for the first twenty years of his career. Later he became famous for his woodland scenes, especially of beech trees, and exhibited all over the world. It is known that he exhibited in a private gallery in Denmark in 1923. Joiner's work is noted for its unique use of light and shadow, recalling the great French landscape artists of the 19th century. This biography from the archives of AskART.com. A painter, Harvey Joiner did portraits including the first five governors of Indiana and also worked in St. Louis where it is thought he studied with David Hoffman. At age 16, he began sketching scenes of African-Americans on the Mississippi River Boats, and by 1880, he had established a studio in Louisville, Kentucky and specialized in scenes of Kentucky beech woods. He also painted allegorical subjects. "I am the great granddaughter of Harvey Joiner and have heard many details about him over the years. He and family went to California and he did many paintings of the shore. Girl on the Rock hung in my mother's house and is now with another member of the family. His studio in Louisville, Kentucky did have a fire and he lost many of his painting and sketches. He painted many of the beech trees in the parks in Louisville, Kentucky. He has done many portraits. Was commissioned to do the Governor of Indiana. I remember as a young girl going to Utica, Indiana to a church and viewing a large painting inside" Other References Who Was Who in American Art Art Across America, South and Midwest Hughes Davenports Other Major Art References |
