Description of Event or Exhibit: Native Daughter, internationally renowned artist Doloris Pederson, returns from California to settle in the land of her ancestors, to paint the land she loves.
Pederson specializes in paintings of the Smoky Hills of Kansas and the beautiful marshes of the Cheyenne Bottoms Wetlands and Quivira Wildlife Refuge near her home.
Pedersons mother came from Italy on the now famous Orphan Train that delivered immigrant European orphans from Europe and New York to farm families in the Midwestern states from 1854-1029. Doloris’s mother was left at the headquarters of the Orphan Train network in Concordia, Kansas and adopted by a wonderful railroad family in Topeka, Kansas. Nearly 200,000 orphans were placed in the Midwest, in the homes of working farmers during that time period.
Ultimately, Doloris Pederson’s mother Rosa Laberto, she fell in love with a Kansas farmer, Peter Pfiefer, and built a life and family of her own working the land. Doloris Pederson was the youngest child of a large, farming family 16 miles north of Hays Kansas. The artist, Pederson, has warm and wonderful memories of life on the farm, which inspired her and her husband to buy land recently in Russell, Kansas. She paints there today from her stately country home overlooking native grasslands and the soft rolling Smoky Hills.
A true story of the melting pot of America, Kansas and the promise of the American dream. One artist and her love of culture, Kansas history, family and the land bring her back to us to view her homeland through her paintings. A must see exhibit!
Upstairs At the Phoenix Gallery: Premier of new, contemporary works by Kansas artist, Craig Hetler. Hetler’s beautiful and intriguing abstract paintings employ multi-layers of gold and silver leaf foil against a rich colorful landscape. Inspired by the contemporary masters of the 20th Century, Rothko, Pollock and Diebenkorn.
Name of Organization Hosting the Event: Phoenix Gallery Topeka Location of the Event: 2900 Oakley Ave. Ste. F, Topeka, KS 66614 (Brookwood Center) Time of the Event: 4-9 PM Event Dates: First Friday, February 1, 2008 (Show Runs Through March 1, 2008)
