With a record attendance of 83 artists at the Plein Air ‘Paint Out’ held last weekend in DeSmet, James Pollock, of Pierre was honored with the Harvey Dunn Award. Artists from six states, including Mississippi, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and South Dakota, painted on the DeSmet prairies and around the community.
The Harvey Dunn Award is an annual prestigious honor presented to the artist who fulfills the ideals of the renowned artist it is named for. Harvey, born on a homestead farm near DeSmet in Manchester, was a successful illustrator, teacher, and was selected by the American Expeditionary Forces as an official artist during WWI. Dunn had a gift of being able to capture the beauty of the wildflowers, grasses, sunrises, sunsets, dramatic clouds and moods of the prairie that he captured with oils. The Harvey Dunn Society brings acknowledgment of the amazing legacy of this very talented artist and historian through this award.
Pollock painting in DeSmet and with his wife Betsy.
