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4. Im. Yll libfecfc, (T«r.1. AvriMcte-J*wMl. So.. Mar. 13. 19SIVALUED AT $300,000» .Potvin Display, World Famous'4Wood Carving, Is Show FeatureOne of the most famous wood carving exhibits in the world—the 3300,000 Potvin display—will be a feature attraction of the Lubbock Home Show, opening today at 2 p. m. at the Fair Park Coiiseum.The exhibit is a collection of 14 scenes with mobile characters carved from 92 different kinds of wood brought from all over the world by the late Moise Potvin,His work has been acclaimed1194S, had finished Ms work wMchI will remain a memorial to him through the ages, the greatest wood carver of his age.Violins Became ValuableThe 160 violins he painstakingly turned out in his lifetime brought him no great fame or fortune, but now some of them are said to be valued at from $3,000 to $10,000.The wood carving of the well known scenes was a hobby with him. He carved the miniatures, which now are hailed as the finest• ... . * vtiiiuii iiuw art; iidiicu u uic uiic^iby critics as • the most amazing ; workever done in wood in his«me. He exhibited them \ M -ul./ ! only at rare times and the crowdscarved but animated the exhibits as well and in scenes where paintings appear the artist copied in oil all the miniatures found intlje exhibit. *The lifealways gazed at them in bewildered amazement.Scene Valued At SU.M0 His masterpiece of the carvings.Home Sweet Home.” is valued- * •*t ..*i‘ VNEW YEAR'S EVE IN CANADAa. t011 at $50,000 by Ralph Del Rae, whostories in wood.was, like some offamous French Canadian w o o d i his art, a story with a happy end-earver and violin maker. ’ ing. Potvin, who died on Dec. 12,★★★« - A A .IIA LITTLE BIT OF IRELANDTHE VILLAGE BLACKSMITHowns the collection and is bringing it to Lubbock for a first timeshowing in a city of less than 500,-000 population. It took 3*4 years to complete. A Victorian living-room with all the splendor of its era, it is truly a glorious produc- j tion with more than 4.000 pieces of wood making up Us parquet floor.In his ‘‘Village Blacksmith the horseshoes, the bellows, even the tiny hammers and handles are uncanny in their reality. When electricity came along, the Canadian cut apart some of his finest figures, animated them, using catgut strings or anything that wouldserve his purpose.Built AU Of WoodFrom the depths of his buming-ly vivid imagination he produced , and built a strange contraption of ’ wheels, gears, cams, all of wood, j He plugged it in, and the spectator gasps at the results. From the behind-the-scenes revolving and creaking of eccentric wheels and 1 cogs, came life.In a scene titled “Story Without Word, a family defeated and in poverty because of a drunken fath- ; er, there is utter dejection in the • weary movement of the housewife's scrubbing.In the “Village Blacksmith, by comparison, everyone is happy with his work. The sparks fly from the anvil, a patient farmer taps his foot to the noise of the shop while waiting to get his old gray fnare shod.An old fashioned saloon, depicting “The Face on the Barroom •; Floor, has been reproduced, ' down to the salami slices on the ' free lunch counter. Pretzels arealso there for the taking.Many words have been written of the Potvin exhibit. However,words and adjectives cannot doit justice.Fourteen scenes all breathtaking, including one of his last scenes, “The Stampede of Texas Longhorns.POLISHING SUGGESTIONPolish furniture, metal or glass with a vengeance. Borrow the man of the house's Cummins drill, attach a buffer bonnet and go to it. The glass will shine so blindingly you’ll have to hide under the bed.rHFERVTT. STRAMKRI
Newspaper Details
Lubbock Avalanche Journal
Lubbock, Texas, US
Sun, Mar 13, 1955
Page 72
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 13 Nov 2022
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