Local Artist Remembered in Art Exhibit/Lecture

The University of Scranton’s Hope Horn Gallery recently hosted a talk by Richard Stanislaus G’98, guest curator for the exhibit “John Willard Raught: Beauty Lies Close at Home,” that opened at the gallery Sept. 6 along with the release of a three volume catalogue of Raught’s work. The lecture, entitled “John Willard Raught: Scranton’s Beloved Artist,” was also presented on Sept. 6.

The former curator of the Pennsylvania Anthracite Heritage Museum, Stanislaus lovingly and humorously explored the life and work of this local artist and shared his own journey as an admirer and collector of Raught’s work.   

Raught (1857-1931) was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He traveled and studied art in New York City and Paris for seven years before returning to study and paint in his hometown. Although Stanislaus stressed Raught’s skill in many areas, the painter’s most notable works are impressionist landscapes. Described as a man of “modest means, but rich anyway,” Raught celebrated, in his work, the natural beauty of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Subjects of his paintings include a view of Ridge Row, which now part of The University of Scranton’s campus where Loyola Science Center now sits, Roaring Brook, and areas of Moscow, Scranton and Dunmore.

A “scholar painter” Raught was also a writer, who regularly published essays in both the Scranton Times and the Scranton Republican. His writings combined with his surviving paintings, Stanislaus stressed, show a thoughtful, talented man who was “happy with life.” Examples of his published articles can be found in the catalogue, for sale at the Hope Horn Gallery.

The lecture, which was open to the public, was attended by a number of Raught’s descendants, local admirers and University students, faculty and staff. The lecture was followed by a reception at the Hope Horn Gallery in Hyland Hall, which was part of Scranton’s First Fridays.

The exhibit will run through November 8th. The Hope Horn Gallery will host another gallery reception for the exhibit as part of October’s First Fridays event from 6 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 4