Eric Von Schmidt
Blues Last Judgement (after Michaelangelo) by
Eric Von Schmidt
The Westport Historical Society
proudly presents Giants of the Blues 1920 to 1950 by Westport
artist Eric von Schmidt, a series of paintings chronicling the roots of
Black-American folk music. The collection visually brings together all of
Eric’s talents as an outstanding artist and portrayer of historical events,
songwriter, performer, prize-winning author and illustrator.
As a small child, Eric watched
his father, legendary illustrator Harold von Schmidt, performing miracles week
after week in the studio–a truly enchanted space–across the driveway from the
family’s main house. Eric painted beside him, sketched with him and often posed
for him.
Eric's foundation in music came
from his mother, Forest Gilmore. He had bought his first guitar after hearing
Leadbelly sing live on a New York radio station and was encouraged by his
parents to visit the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. There, he discovered
a body of forgotten archival blues recordings, and Eric’s second career was
born.
Eric graduated from Staples High
School and went briefly to the Art Students League in New York City, before
being drafted during the Korean War. After Korea, he received a Fulbright
Scholarship to study painting in Italy in 1956-1957. Upon his return, he
moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts and became a folk and blues singer in the
Cambridge Coffee House scene and entered the Boston literary field. His
books, Baby Let Me Follow You Down, coauthored with Jim Rooney, won the ASCAP
Deems Taylor Award in 1979, and Notes for American Folk Music won a Grammy in
1998.
Eric von Schmidt’s series of
paintings Giants of the Blues 1920 to 1950 honors and immortalizes the
creators of the blues, those responsible for performing and preserving
Black-American folk music. The paintings depict the rich history of the
people who handed down the blues sounds that influence popular music today.
Piano Players
Henry Thomas' Dream
Delta Dawn
featuring images of such famous bluesman as Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker,
Robert Johnson, and Muddy Waters
Texas Blues Men
featuring images of such famous bluesman as Blind Willie Johnson and
Leadbelly,
Beale Street's The Walk
featuring images of such famous bluesman as Memphis Minnie and Mississippi
Sheiks
Eric von Schmidt and the Cruel Family is an
original painting used for a 1977 album cover
Exhibit Curator
Howard Munce
Exhibit Committee
Exhibit Co-Chairmen & Exhibit Design
Mollie Donovan & Wally Woods
Peter Jennings, Harry Audley & Martin West
WAC Concert Liason
Chance Browne
Graphics and Photography
Andrea Maritzer Fine
A very special thank you
to
Caitlin von Schmidt
Westport Arts Center
