First PAUL SAWYIER Exhibition of 56 Oil Paintings - Kentucky's Governor's Mansion

                                             August-December, 2015


                                                The Church at Troy, Kentucky

                   Now on exhibit at the Commonwealth of Kentucky's Governor's Mansion is the first display of only original oil paintings by Paul Sawyier.  This unique exhibition contains 55 of Paul Sawyier's finest paintings, most completed in the later part of his career.

   Sawyier initially learned to be a portrait artist under two of America's finest, William Merritt Chase and Kentucky's Frank Duveneck.  His mediums included pencil, pastel, and oil to capture in the finest tradition many of Frankfort's prominent citizens. His portrait of Governor Scott is on display at the Kentucky Historical Society.     

                   However, Sawyier shifted to watercolor and landscapes after seeing the French Impressionist exhibit at the Chicago World's Fair. Currently, Sawyier is primarily known for his original watercolors that captured scenes of his hometown Frankfort and Franklin County, and later, his images of the Shakertown-High Bridge and Camp Nelson areas. It has been established that he painted at least 2,000 watercolors.

                   What is less known is that after leaving Kentucky in 1913, Sawyier concentrated on painting in oil, creating scenes of both Kentucky and New York. Previous Sawyier exhibitions rarely included paintings in oils because it is estimated that he probably did not create over 100 of his finest works in the last five years of his life.

                   This exhibition at the Governor's Mansion in Frankfort includes 55 of these works. The first and probably only such display of Sawyier's magnificant talent in oil painting. Sizes on display range from the small, 4"x 6" to his largest work over 4'x8'.

                    The exhibition will run into December, 2015 and the Mansion is open on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.