Discover Vintage America — February 2012
Hidden art, and talent, revealed
The artists may be hidden but not their art.
Paintings created by inmates of the US Penitentiary in Leavenworth, KS, and the US Disciplinary Barracks, in Fort Leavenworth, KS, will be on display at the 30th anniversary of “Hidden Art Locked Away” preview, show and sale Feb. 3-4 at the Riverfront Community Center, 123 Esplanade St., in Leavenworth, KS.
The annual event benefits the River City Community Players theater group, which has sponsored the event since its inception.
“Each year the work on display differs,” says Frank Geib, a 30-year veteran show organizer who serves on the theater’s board. “We never know what we’re going to get until it shows up.
The popular show draws collectors both from the region and nationally, Geib adds. “One fellow comes from Washington, D.C., every year.”
Prices for the artwork range from a low of $35 to a high of $300, a cap set by the theater board 30 years ago.
“We don’t wish to out price art for people attending the show,” Geib says. Eighty percent of proceeds are returned to the inmates whose paintings are sold.
Former Leavenworth prisoner and political activist Leonard Peltier has exhibited and sold work in the show, Geib adds. “He could have easily charged a $1,000 for a painting.”
Art plays an important role in the inmates’ lives, Geib says, whose own home is filled with prison artwork that he’s collected over the years.
“It gives the men a different outlet to express themselves,” he says. “Many have no art background when they arrive to the penitentiary but they learn the craft from others.”
Judges, selected from area art groups, will award three “Best in Show” ribbons on Friday afternoon prior to that evening’s preview from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Show and sale hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4.
Geib, who says he has immensely enjoyed participating in the program for 30 years, recommends that customers arrive early because the art sells quickly. “It’s first-come, first-served,” he says.
The City of Leavenworth Parks and Recreation also sponsors the event. For more information, call 913-682-4450 or 913-240-9416.