August 2014 Newsletter Summary

8ed7604c-aed6-47fd-a010-024749eba1c3 This is just a summary of my monthly Newsletter! To see the entire newsletter please click here. aug2014 Greetings from the Road!

I’m just about done with my summer tour and wanted to take a moment to announce our August winner and give you some exciting updates! 

 

SEE LISA and Her HISTORIC MAP PAINTINGS in the Fall issue of the 
MONTANA QUARTERLY magazine!

 

b99eb509-1cd8-4647-898d-b56d3f79edfdI’m excited to announce that I will be featured in the next edition of Montana Quarterly!  I will be sure to post links to the article as soon as it’s published!

FALL SHOW SCHEDULE! Tell Your Neighbors, Tell Your Friends! A hand-painted historic map is a memorable GIFT!

22f96454-9737-422c-bdf5-1efdec643ca1


Issaquah Salmon Days, Issaquah WA (waiting list) October 24-26:
Best of the Northwest, Seattle WA November 21,22,23:
Custer Show, Spokane WA November 28,29,30:
Under the Big Sky Holiday Festival, Missoula MT
December 14: Made Fair, Missoula MT


BOOK REVIEW OF THE MONTH  64f445a4-9563-4b08-9929-af5b50db49d2 There’s only one book on my list this month…and I am OH SO excited to read it! This is a thrilling tale in to the BLACK MARKET of ANCIENT DOCUMENTS!The story of an infamous crime, a revered map dealer with an unsavory secret, and the ruthless subculture that consumed him
 
Maps have long exerted a special fascination on viewers—both as beautiful works of art and as practical tools to navigate the world. But to those who collect them, the map trade can be a cutthroat business, inhabited by quirky and sometimes disreputable characters in search of a finite number of extremely rare objects.
 
Once considered a respectable antiquarian map dealer, E. Forbes Smiley spent years doubling as a map thief —until he was finally arrested slipping maps out of books in the Yale University library. The Map Thief delves into the untold history of this fascinating high-stakes criminal and the inside story of the industry that consumed him.
 
Acclaimed reporter Michael Blanding has interviewed all the key players in this stranger-than-fiction story, and shares the fascinating histories of maps that charted the New World, and how they went from being practical instruments to quirky heirlooms to highly coveted objects. Though pieces of the map theft story have been written before, Blanding is the first reporter to explore the story in full—and had the rare privilege of having access to Smiley himself after he’d gone silent in the wake of his crimes. Moreover, although Smiley swears he has admitted to all of the maps he stole, libraries claim he stole hundreds more—and offer intriguing clues to prove it. Now, through a series of exclusive interviews with Smiley and other key individuals, Blanding teases out an astonishing tale of destruction and redemption.
 
The Map Thief interweaves Smiley’s escapades with the stories of the explorers and mapmakers he knew better than anyone. Tracking a series of thefts as brazen as the art heists in Provenance and a subculture as obsessive as the oenophiles in The Billionaire’s Vinegar, Blanding has pieced together an unforgettable story of high-stakes crime.”

AUGUST RAFFLE WINNER

Thank you for your interest in me and sharing your love for maps and art. It is an honor to share my story with you!

 

87d9fa85-807c-4fd6-93b2-532c2043d6bcEveryone who subscribes to the newsletter is AUTOMATICALLY eligible for the drawing! The raffle winner is determined by a random number generator.  Everyone has a chance to win each month. Please sign up for my newsletter here!   Please sign up for my newsletter here!

88d73763-b79c-4357-8e8c-6c75cf458ae6 It sure has been a whirlwind of a month!
With two more weekends of shows I’m preparing to say good-by to a wonderful summer with some hikes and “hello” to a new season of map projects!
I wish you all the most wonderful of Augusts.  Happy trails until we meet again!

“Despite the way they express a shared geography, maps are tools of the imagination first, mediating a relationship between an individual and a place” -Michael Blanding, The Map Thief

To see the entire newsletter please click here.

Tell your neighbors! Tell your friends!

Lisa’s Summer Show Schedule 2014

Conference, Jackson WY October 4-5: Issaquah Salmon Days, Issaquah WA (waiting list) October 24-26 Best of the Northwest, Seattle WA

“I have seen your maps EVERYWHERE and have been so looking forward to buying one for myself!”

“I LOVE this map, I KNEW the Scottish were here!”

Explore Lisa’s maps ANYTIME and ANYWHERE online at

Our Most Frequently Updated shopping cart ETSY.com  Please visit us now by clicking the SHOP link!!

Order any map, or let us visit with you about your map needs!

PHONE 888-255-7726 or EMAIL: fineart@greatriverarts.com

New Schedule

Tell your neighbors! Tell your friends! 
July 4 Conrad Mansion Ice Cream Social, Kalispell MT
July 11-13 Yellowstone Art Museum Summerfair, Billings MT
July 18-20 Hockiday Art Museum, Art in the Park Kalispell MT
July 28-29 Art Fair on the Green, LaCrosse WI
August 1-3 Sweet Pea, Bozeman MT
August 8-10 Huckleberry Days, Whitefish MT
August 15-17, VALA Eastside, Redmond, WA
September 4-7, Western Design Conference, Jackson WY
October 4-5: Issaquah Salmon Days, Issaquah WA (waiting list)
October 24-26 Best of the Northwest, Seattle WA

Historic Map Artist, Lisa Middleton to Exhibit in La Crosse, Wisconsin, July 26-27

PRESS RELEASE (Photos and contacts below the release)

Artist Lisa Middleton, originally from La Crosse, Wisconsin, has been painting historic Mississippi River maps for more than a decade and her maps can be found in homes and businesses throughout the United States.  Middleton will be sharing her historic map paintings and their stories at the ART FAIR ON THE GREEN, UW-La Crosse Campus, July 26-27, 2014. Her exhibit will include hand-painted historic maps of the Mississippi River and the Wisconsin/Iowa Territory, as well as the Old Northwest in various media.

lisa display in Seattle 2014

“I like to work on maps with history; maps of places people love; maps that have stories,” Middleton said. She scours library collections and old bookstores for interesting maps, enlarges them at very high resolutions, and paints them using watercolor and oil pastels.

Ribbon Map Origial  $160   4x38"Middleton’s favorite maps include authentic depictions of wagon roads, native villages and railroads. If a large river, such as the Missouri or the Mississippi is described as “source unknown,” so much the better!

Many different things can make a map interesting to customers who often spend a great deal of time browsing through the maps, according to Middleton. Sometimes places on the map have disappeared… like “Waterproof” on Glazier’s 1887 ribbon map.  Sometimes maps represent hopeful guessing, such as the Northwest passage created by the Missouri River on her 1732 De l’Isle map, “Carte de la Louisiane”.kitty at work

“Sometimes a map brings back a precious memory for a customer, or maybe there is just something about the colors or the location that ‘lifts the spirit,” as one map buff described it. Lisa offers her lively website at  www.greatriverarts.com for those interested in exploring map-related books, access to large galleries of Lisa’s historic map paintings, or an insight into the artist’s life.

In addition to historic maps of the Mississippi River Valley, Middleton’s exhibit willfull, plantation 1 include a large selection of historic maps from the Old Northwest, and many other American and International locations from the Middle East to Norway and France. Visitors will find original paintings, giclee reproductions, and gift prints. She is also happy to accept commissions, with appointments available by visiting the contact page at www.greatriverarts.com

CONTACT INFORMATION
Pat@greatriver.com
888-255-7726
Great River Publishing
Or Email the Artist:  Fineart@greatriverarts.com
www.greatriverarts.com

 

1878 Historic Door County Map Features Lighthouse Inset

Original Door County map ... MAY be intensified a bit, Not sure.Today we are featuring our NEW 1878 Door County Wisconsin Atlas Map–it notes the location of each lighthouse at that time, all townships, villages, and sections, and a street plan for Sturgeon Bay in the upper left inset.

While the original map featured Jenny, Wisconsin (of Lincoln County), in the lower right, we have provided a list of names and construction dates for each of Door County’s Lighthouses.

Door County was named after the passage between the tip of the Penninsula and Washington Island. The French called it, “Door of the Dead,” and the English/American sailors shortened that to “Death’s Door.” Locals will notice that today’s township of Sevastopol was intended to be Sebastopol, named after a Russian town.

Our map is available as either an 11×17″ map for $24.95 or a beautiful ivory 16×20 print for $50. Both are easy-frame versions for standard-sized frames. Call 888-255-7726 to order direct from Great River Arts, or  click the SHOP link above and go to the FINE ART AMERICA link to purchase the print in every imaginable size and medium! Normal trade discounts apply to retailers.

A NEW MAP OF LAKE PEPIN on the MISSISSIPPI RIVER is now Available from Great River Arts!

 

“A NEW MAP OF LAKE PEPIN” by Lisa Middleton is now available for order or purchase from Great River Arts and many fine gift shops and galleries along the Mississippi River.  Our popular gift print product with label describing this map is just $28.95. Beautiful when framed!

36″ long and 8″ wide, with totally original design and illustration, this map features both historical and geographical landmarks visible to those cruising by land or river between Wabasha and Redwing.  Many islands and sloughs are named.

CLICK HERE to see a high resolution image of this map in our Art Gallery!

Please phone 888-255-7726 to make your order! We have two original paintings and signed and numbered Giclee Reproductions available as well as the Gift Prints!