POTTSVILLE — A rare watercolor of early Pottsville by Howard N. Watson is the centerpiece of Hometown Pottsville, an exhibit at the Schuylkill County Historical Society.
Watson, a Pottsville native who passed in 2022, was a renowned African American watercolorist, landscape artist, illustrator and teacher.
He was artist-in-residence at the White House when Jimmy Carter was president, and did paintings on commission for President Bill Clinton and Vice President Walter Mondale.
Though he lived in Philadelphia, Watson held a lifelong connection to his birth city. He painted the Yuengling Mansion and other landmarks, and led watercolor painting workshops in Pottsville and Orwigsburg.
It is not known when he painted the watercolor of Pottsville that’s on display. It is part of the society’s collection.
Organized by the Keystone Arts Collective, the exhibit opened Thursday and runs through July 31.
Amy Dee, a spokesperson for the collective, said the collective includes artists from Schuylkill, Carbon and Lehigh counties.
The collective has permanent exhibits at Thorpe’s 903, Jim Thorpe; the Sayre Mansion, Bethlehem and Thunderhead Lodge, Andreas. It has occasional pop-up exhibits like the one in Pottsville.
The exhibit includes oil and watercolor paintings, fantasy art and nature photography.
Lawrence Vinskie, a Schuylkill County artist, captured an early morning scene at Charles Baber Cemetery in oil on canvas.
A self-taught artist, he’s been painting for more than 50 years.
“When I’m painting,” Vinskie said, “I go where my mind takes me.”
Marky Barto’s portrait of a woman in 17th Century clothing is painted in the style of the Old Masters.
“You paint in layers,” said Barto, a Schuylkill County artist, “and the painting emerges.”
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Marky Barto talks about the process of making “Cornelia” during an artist exhibition at the Schuylkill County Historical Society in Pottsville, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
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Marky Barto talks about the process of making “Cornelia” during an artist exhibition at the Schuylkill County Historical Society in Pottsville, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
Barto is also showing several pieces of paper quilling art, made from strips of paper rolled, looped and curled. She’s conducting a workshop in paper quilling at 6 p.m. July 24 in the historical society.
Amanda D’Agostino, a Keystone Arts Collective member, will hold a creativity workshop at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 30 in the historical society.
The Hometown Pottsville exhibit includes works by nature photographers Pat Falco of Orwigsburg, and Amber Fink of Pottsville.
Fink discussed her photograph of St. Malachy’s Catholic Church in Belfast, Northern Ireland, known for its Tudor Revival architecture.
“I like to give my photographs an artistic flare,” she said, “and make them look like paintings.”
Also on display is a painting of The Miner’s Journal building in Pottsville by George Dodson, done in 1963, and a seascape by the late Pottsville artist Dave Naydock, a muralist whose work appears in numerous locations around the city.
The Hometown Pottsville exhibit is open to the public during regular hours at the Schuylkill County Historical Society, Museum and Gift Shop, 306 N. Centre St., Pottsville. Its hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. For information, call 570-622-7540.
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Barbara Malewski takes in the art on display during an artist exhibition at the Schuylkill County Historical Society in Pottsville, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
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Barbara Malewski takes in the art on display during an artist exhibition at the Schuylkill County Historical Society in Pottsville, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
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