Holstien [sic] and Proud Owner

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Photograph by Dave Revette
Holstien [sic] and Proud Owner
Photograph by Dave Revette
Artist/Maker (American, 1928 – 1998)
Date1987
MediumWhite pine with enamel paint and plastic
DimensionsOverall: 12 3/4 × 7 1/4 × 18 in. (32.4 × 18.4 × 45.7 cm)
Credit LinePurchased with funds donated by D. Roger Howlett, Class of 1966
Object number1989.22
Not on view
DescriptionC. Lavern Kelley was a farmer who was born and raised in the rural community of Laurens, near Oneonta, New York. Strong-willed, Kelley chose not to pursue professional artistic training despite his talent for wood carving. He did not consider himself to be an artist, preferring to be known as a preserver of memories and an advocate for independent thought. When Kelley was in his fifties, he was surprised to encounter growing admiration for his carved wood sculptures which depict rural subjects drawn from his secluded way of life. Kelley’s first solo exhibition took place at the Emerson Gallery at Hamilton College in 1989, and this sculpture was included in the display that featured on the cover of the exhibition catalogue. The farmer’s green emblemed cap is a nod to Kelley’s passion for John Deere tractors and mechanical equipment, and acknowledges how the shift away from horse power in the 1940s transformed the lives of those involved in farm labor. However, despite the positive aspects of these technical advances, Kelley ultimately believed in the power of one’s own hands for both whittling and farm tasks, as “that’s what your hands was put there for.”
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Additional Details

Alternate Titles Holstein and Proud Owner
Exhibition History 2024-2025
Clinton, NY. The Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College. "Menagerie: Animals in Art from the Wellin Museum," September 7, 2024 –June 8, 2025 (no cat.).

2017
Livingston Manor, NY (Catskill Art Society), Lavern Kelley, Farmer/Artist: A Retrospective, July 1 - 30, 2017 (cat., illustrated p. 48);

2015
Cooperstown, NY (Fenimore Art Museum). "Lavern Kelley: The Art of the Farm," September 19 - December 31, 2015 (no catalog);

2012
Clinton, NY (Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College). "Archive Hall: Art and Artifacts," October 6, 2012 - August 2013 (no catalog);

1989
Clinton, NY (Fred L. Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College). "A Rural Life: The Art of Lavern Kelley," February 12 - March 26, 1989 (cat. no. 183, illus., cover).
Provenance February 1989: Hamilton College (Fred L. Emerson Gallery), purchased from Gallery 53 Artworks, Cooperstown, NY
Published References William Salzillo, A RURAL LIFE: THE ART OF LAVERN KELLEY (exh. cat. Clinton, NY, Fred L. Emerson Gallery, 1989), illus., cover, cat. no.183.

Emerson Gallery, Hamilton College, Friends of Art Newsletter, vol. 1, no. 3, April 1990, "Acquisitions"
Inscribed Title inscribed on top of base: HOLSTIEN {sic} AND PROUD OWNER
© Estate of Paul Almásy / Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation.
Maria Luisa Learns and Teaches: Despite the tremendous development of tourism over the past ten years, despite the experiences and impressions of millions of people who visit foreign countries and sometimes foreign continents every year as tourists, students, for business, scholars or journalists are our knowledge of everyday life of people living in distant countries is still poor.
Paul Almásy
Date: 1961
Medium: Vintage ferrotyped gelatin silver print
Object number: 2025.30.29
© Lucas Foglia. Image Courtesy of Light Work, Syracuse, NY. For educational purposes only.
Cardin in the Rain, Virginia
Lucas Foglia
Date: 2006
Medium: Archival inkjet print
Object number: 2020.8.20
Photograph by John Bentham
Rancher, Montana
Arthur Rothstein
Date: c. 1938
Medium: Gelatin silver print
Object number: 2015.11.19
Photo by John Bentham.
Ball Play, plate 23 from "North American Indian Portfolio"
George Catlin
Date: 1845
Medium: Color lithograph on paper
Object number: 1959.125
Photo by John Bentham.
Ball-play Dance, plate 22 from "North American Indian Portfolio"
George Catlin
Date: 1845
Medium: Color lithograph on paper
Object number: 1959.124
© Estate of Paul Almásy / Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation.
The Newspaper That "Breeds" Readers: Illiteracy is a major obstacle to the countries of Latin America on the path to overall cultural and economic progress and forms a barrier to the development of the newspaper industry.
Paul Almásy
Date: 1961
Medium: Vintage ferrotyped gelatin silver print
Object number: 2025.30.23
© Estate of Paul Almásy / Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation.
The Newspaper That "Breeds" Readers: Illiteracy is a major obstacle to the countries of Latin America on the path to overall cultural and economic progress and forms a barrier to the development of the newspaper industry.
Paul Almásy
Date: 1961
Medium: Vintage ferrotyped gelatin silver print
Object number: 2025.30.25
© Matt Black. Image courtesy of Light Work, Syracuse, NY. For educational purposes only.
Dawn Firebaugh
Matt Black
Date: 1996
Medium: Archival inkjet print
Object number: 2020.8.23
Photo by John Bentham.
Wild Horses at Play, plate 3 from the "North American Indian Portfolio"
George Catlin
Date: 1845
Medium: Color lithograph on paper
Object number: 1959.106
© Marla Sweeney. Image courtesy of Light Work, Syracuse, NY. For educational purposes only.
Brothers, South Boston Beach
Marla Sweeney
Date: 2003
Medium: Archival inkjet print
Object number: 2020.8.22
Untitled, plate 582 from the series "Animal Locomotion"
Untitled, plate 582 from the series "Animal Locomotion"
Eadweard Muybridge
Date: c. 1884-87 (published 1887)
Medium: Collotype on paper, mounted on board
Object number: 2011.8.4
Abraham Brian Barn, Gettysburg National Military Park, from the series "Underground Railroad"
Abraham Brian Barn, Gettysburg National Military Park, from the series "Underground Railroad"
William E. Williams
Date: 1986, printed 2003
Medium: Gelatin silver print
Object number: 2009.2.1