This summer at Lake Champlain Maritime Museum travel back in time 100 years to see Otter Creek and downtown Vergennes Through the Eyes of Custer Ingham, on view through August 15. Working with guest curators William Benton and Greg Hamilton, LCMM has assembled over 40 works by this little-known Vermont artist from private collections, most of which have not been on public view since the 1960s and 1970s. Born during the Civil War and named for General George Armstrong Custer, Ingham began in the 1880s to paint scenes of daily life in the Champlain Valley, including Lake Champlain’s Westport Sail Ferry, a baseball game on the banks of Otter Creek, and the family farm. The falls and the basin below on Otter Creek were favorite topics and several of the paintings in the show are views of this area with boats, fisherman, swimmers and perhaps even Ingham himself as subjects in the landscapes.
Early in his career, Ingham studied at the National Academy of Design in New York for two years; later, a brief visit to Europe in 1914 was cut short by the outbreak of World War I. Although he chose a realist approach, many of Ingham’s works demonstrate his interest in experimenting with the artistic movements of his era, evoking the trompe l’oeil paintings of William Harnett, landscapes of the Barbizon and Hudson River schools, and the colors and atmospheric effects of the Impressionists.
A full color illustrated catalog of the exhibition is available, thanks to a generous gift from People’s United Bank and a publication grant from the Marian S. Ware Charitable Lead Annuity Trust. Through the Eyes of Custer Ingham is on view through August 15. Lake Champlain Maritime Museum at 4472 Basin Harbor Road is open daily from 10-5, and the exhibit is included with admission (museum members and children 5 and under get in free). For more information call 802 475-2022 or go to www.lcmm.org.
