The Fayette Citizen-Weekend Page
Wednesday, October 27, 1999
A surprising treasury in Hogansville

By SALLIE SATTERTHWAITE
Lifestyle Columnist

Our husbands had birthdays a couple of days apart in July, so Marquita and I concocted an outing. We wanted it to be a surprise, so I resorted to an old trick.

I don't tell Dave where we're going, but I say, “Hugh's going and he's counting on you to come along. Besides, you always enjoy his company.”

Meanwhile, Marquita's saying the same thing to Hugh about Dave.

Anyhow, we packed the old boys into the car, and until we arrived they did not know that our destination was Hogansville and The International Art Museum of Re-Creations.

“The Museum of the 100 Paintings That Never Traveled,” says their flier.

The paintings, filling a former furniture store at 203 E. Main, are reproductions of many of the world's great works of art.

Now both our friends and we have done some traveling in Europe, and have ogled the originals of some of these pieces in museums there. Marquita is an artist by training and instinct. I'm one of those who say, “I don't know much about art, but I know what I like.” I should probably say, “I like what I know,” since familiarity is often key to my artistic sophistication.

We both knew that a gallery of reproductions could be a disaster. It was not. It was an extraordinarily delightful experience, and we do not hesitate to recommend it.

Jacques Harvey is a gifted artist who began his career copying old masters for clients willing to pay (and rather well) for ersatz art that looks like the original. After all, the originals reside in the world's great galleries and are not for sale at any price.

Eventually, if I recall correctly what we were told by the docent on duty, Harvey bought back some of his better pieces, painted many more, and engaged other major international artists to do the same. The result is a permanent exhibition in a simple two-level gallery in Hogansville, augmented occasionally by special exhibits by some of Harvey's students.

Imagine Leonardo's Mona Lisa, Renoir's The Boating Party, Rembrandt's The Night Watch, Picasso's Guernica, and van Gogh's Sunflowers in one gallery. And only 30 miles from home.

They're all there. So is Dali's massive Crucifixion, the one in bright clear light in which the viewer looks down at the top of Jesus' head.

Breughel's The Wedding Feast is there, a treasure of images inviting long perusal.

Grant Wood's American Gothic is included, and so is Millet's The Gleaners. Miro is represented, and Mary Cassatt and Alfred Sisley and Manet and Degas. There are several modern works whose creators I don't recall, a few requiring long study before you realize exactly what it is you are seeing.

And in an adjacent alcove, propped against the wall, are still lifes that make such exquisite use of light that you can hardly believe they are simply paint on canvas. The white grapes in one appeared almost transparent and near bursting with moisture. Most of the paintings are elaborately framed, like those we've seen in European museums. And most are approximately the same dimensions as the originals. A notable exception is The Night Watch, but then it is nearly mural-sized in its permanent home in Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum.

Harvey and his collaborators used an astonishingly similar technique in copying the originals too, whether in oil, tempura, or water color. The pointillism is “real” and some oils even have a crackled canvas effect like that seen in paintings like Rembrandt's Self-Portrait.

Most are so well done that, without the original alongside to compare stroke for stroke, I don't know that the average person would see the difference. Marquita observed that she wished she'd had such an exhibit to show her art students.

Harvey's work is not all perfect. American Gothic is just not right, and Mona looked really “off” to me too. She appears to be sneering, and when I saw her in the Louvre, I thought her expression was unreadable.

The International Art Museum of Re-Creation is itself a work in progress.

Only one copy of a guide was available when we were there, with promises of publication. And I wish they were on the Internet, but last time I looked, they had not made it yet.

The knowledgeable docent who welcomed us moved here recently from Boston to return to her mid-Georgia roots, never dreaming she'd find work in her field of art and museum management. She was a serendipitous find for Harvey as well.

Later we strolled up and down Main and admired the recent transformation of Hogansville, a village fast becoming a destination, drawing people to the antique shops that now fill nearly every former retail store in the downtown.

In addition, the renovated old Grand Hotel is open as a bed and breakfast, and has a tea room and sweet shop, a wonderful overnight

getaway spot.

Despite the lure of Gaby's Cafe & Bistro and several other eateries, of course we took the guys to Hogan's Heroes for dinner. That was our first meal at the hugely popular restaurant, and one of the best I've had in forever.

The day was splendid, and for the birthday guys, I think it took some of the sting out of getting older. Marquita and I heard no complaints.

The museum has generous hours, but may change them soon, so better call first: 706-637-8030; fax 770-637-9500; e-mail Maison1@compuserve.com. Admission “donation” is $4.50 for adults, with discounts for kids and groups.

 

 

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