Why Buy Art?

    Why buy art when there are so many other things we need? And who says we don't need art? I have collected a few stories about buying art over the the years, and today I'd like to share my favorite one to date. 

I recently opened an e-mail titled "One More Cord- Worthington, PA" by Harold Miller .  It read, "I would like to purchase the above named painting, I believe the price is $450 framed. Could you please advise me on how to best do so, I'm currently in Medicine Lake, Montana." I responded with the typical answer telling the gentleman how to reach me and the methods of payment available. He called that afternoon, and in the course of our conversation I learned his remarkable story. First I learned that he wasn't sure where the Gallery is located and that he hadn't been in Indiana in about a year and a half. Well, that made me a little curious as to how he knew about this particular painting, which is currently part of a solo show by Harold K. Miller at the Artists Hand.  So I asked. And with his permission I'll let him tell his story in his own words. . . .

Dear Mr. Miller,

My family has been in that general area of Armstrong County since the 1790"s, and I just moved to Montana, the whole process from applying to the school for an English teaching post, to being interviewed, hired, and leaving took less than a week.  I arrived at Medicine Lake with only two days to ready myself for my students. In the process I was going to use a power point lecture with a section for us to introduce ourselves to one another. I went to Google to do an image search for Worthington, Pennsylvania when a lovely painting of my great and grandparents farm popped up. My heart stopped and I broke down. I've lived in western Pennsylvania for all of my life and had never possessed a desire to leave, but teaching jobs are nigh on impossible to find, so for the good of my family I headed west. So here I am on the great plains, thirty minutes from Canada and three days from hearth and home. I called my wife and begged her if I could select my Christmas present now, and have just concluded the purchase, after teaching today, with the gallery.

Your painting will be a treasured heirloom for us, and a warm (or should I say cold) reminder of my life now behind . . .

The house and barn were both built by my great grandfather and replaced the older structures.  And the little church in the distant background is Franklin Union Baptist, which my g-g-g-g-great grandfather, John Claypoole, helped found in 1846, so every stroke of your work has deep meaning for me. The farm now belongs to a cousin, Ray Claypoole, and happily he still farms it with care and due diligence.

My heartfelt thanks, God Bless,

Eric Cook

Time and time again I have learned that we buy art because it causes something in us to be touched. Something deep down that moves us at the core of our being. Whether it's a touch of home or something equally archetypal it completes something within. Mr. Cook was not just moved by the familiarity of the image, but by the fact that another person saw and treasured what he sees and treasures in that place. And that person's hand, in this case Harold Miller, is part of the story. I asked Eric Cook if I could share his story because everyone who has heard it has been moved by it, maybe because we've all been homesick at one time or another.

To buy an artwork is to make an investment in yourself. To own something unique that brings you joy. I have many more stories of finding the perfect image or object. And a few about missed opportunities. Each one has a very human element, a very human emotion. Thank you Eric Cook for sharing your story and thank you Harold Miller for sharing your love of our local landscape.