Lecture: “Charles C. Hofmann’s Paintings Along the Schuylkill River: Landscapes of Peace, Prosperity, and Despair”

From Daniel Boone Homestead Associates

Join the Daniel Boone Homestead Associates for their annual fall lecture series at the Daniel Boone Homestead’s DeTurk Education Center. Historians and scholars will share their knowledge on various topics with the local community and its visitors. Don’t miss this great opportunity to learn more about life in the past.

On Sunday, Nov. 2, the Historic Trappe’s curator, Christopher Malone, will give a lecture entitled “Charles C. Hofmann’s Paintings Along the Schuylkill River: Landscapes of Peace, Prosperity, and Despair” starting at 2 p.m. Malone will step between the brush strokes to reveal the troubled but vibrant world of German immigrant, almshouse inmate, and itinerant painter Charles C. Hofmann.

The changing landscapes in Hofmann’s almshouse paintings parallel his transient life along the Schuylkill River. From town to town, new architectural styles and industries appeared, showcasing the progress of American life after the Civil War. Hofmann’s paintings were filled with genteel people, farmers, and obedient workers, but his work often hid the sick and poverty-stricken individuals who inhabited the almshouses in Schuylkill, Berks, and Montgomery counties. Hofmann often left the despair and poor conditions within these establishments to the viewer’s imagination. His contributions to American folk art are important, and his body of work documents many significant Pennsylvania sites and landscapes that no longer exist.

Malone is currently serving as curator at Historic Trappe in eastern Pennsylvania. His work has focused on Pennsylvania German material culture with an emphasis on the Moravians and other intentional communities. He earned his Master’s in Architecture from Syracuse University as well as a Master’s in American Material Culture from the Winterthur Program in Delaware. Prior to his time at Historic Trappe, Malone worked for the Moravian Historical Society and as curator at the American Swedish Historical Museum.

Admission for the lectures is $2.00/person suggested donation. Please, no pets and no smoking. The Fall Lecture Series is presented and funded by The Daniel Boone Homestead Associates.  

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Source: bctv