Courtesy of Landmarks Gallery and Restoration Studio
Ruth Harvey came late to painting. While most artists manifest their interest early in life, Harvey’s youthful inclination was toward math and science. Born in Milwaukee in 1925, she was unusual among women of her generation for pursuing a degree in bacteriology at UW-Madison. In 1970 she took a painting class and never looked back. Ten of her paintings are on view and on sale at Landmarks Gallery.
Harvey studied painting at UW-Oshkosh in the ‘70s and began amassing a portfolio of watercolors, acrylics and, most of all, oils. As shown in her Landmarks exhibition, “Ruth Harvey: Impressions of Wisconsin,” she painted landscapes, florals, still lifes and portraits. The exhibit’s most compelling image, an oil on board portrait of a weathered man in farmer’s garb, Uncle Fred, conjures an echo of Thomas Hart Benton.>
In her landscapes, Harvey captures the essence of the places she depicts in swirling strokes of paint. Her color schemes are often meta-realistic; the periwinkle river in Silver Creek Valley is impossible in actuality but striking on canvas; the fiery vibrancy of Blue Tree is a vision in brightness. She was a master of using undertones, adding subtle richness and depth to her best work.
Harvey exhibited widely throughout Wisconsin before her death in 2012. “Impressions of Wisconsin” will be on view through May 16 at Landmarks Gallery, 231 N. 76 St.
