New exhibit focuses on Ben Austrian
READING >> The Reading Public Museum is presenting a focus exhibition in The Museum’s Auditorium dedicated to the Berks County artist, Ben Austrian (1870 –1921).
Titled “Ben Austrian: An American Original,” the show will be on view through Dec. 18. The exhibition is mounted in honor of Judith M. Hartman, a long-time museum volunteer and supporter. In 1982, Hartman published a seminal article on the artist that appeared in the Historical Review of Berks County (47:2). The Austrians will be installed flanking fellow Berks County artist Christopher Shearer’s masterpiece, Smoky Range, Allegheny Mountains (1895).
The show features ten paintings, including a group of Austrian’s most important works: Golden Harvest (1900), Motherhood (1897), and Still Life (1898). Austrian is best known for his sensitive renderings of barnyard animals—especially mother hens tending to sometimes unruly chicks. Landscapes and trompe l’oeil (“fool the eye”) still lifes were also a part of Austrian’s body of work. He also painted game scenes as well as landscape views of Europe, Florida, and Pennsylvania.
The son of German-Jewish immigrants, Austrian was raised in Reading, Pennsylvania and rose to prominence in the 1890s, exhibiting his works in Philadelphia, New York, London, and Paris. He received critical praise for his ability to render animals and still life elements with great naturalism. Eventually, his chick paintings caught the attention of the makers of Bon Ami natural household cleanser. Austrian’s “just-hatched” chick appeared on packaging around 1902, and quickly became associated with the brand along with their tag line: “Hasn’t Scratched Yet.” To this day, the product uses Austrian’s chick on its packaging.
The Reading Public Museum is supported in part by grants from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and is located at 500 Museum Road, Reading, Pa. Admission per day is: $10 adults (1864), $6 children/seniors/ college students (w/ID) and free to Members and children three years old and under. The Museum is open daily 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Web: www. readingpublicmuseum.org