Sea Island Life Magazine Fall/Winter 2013 | Page 43

COURTESY OF HARLAN HAMBRIGHT

Edward H. Potthast’s “Water Lilies,” at the Grand Hotel
COURTESY OF THE BROADMOOR

Sea Island displays artwork that celebrate the region, such as “Fort Frederica” by Frederick Pawla.

sea island archivist Mimi rogers explains
the inspiration behind the collection in more
detail: “the paintings, tapestries and historical photographs—all of these create the right
ambience for the interior of the Cloister,” she
says. “even though it’s a grand setting, the artwork gives it the warmth of a home. the idea
was to make the hotel as beautiful and inviting
as possible.”
The Broadmoor
Often touted as “the Grand dame of the
rockies,” the Broadmoor, located in Colorado
springs, Colo., refuses to rest on the laurels of
its spectacular surroundings. Given the hotel’s
unique location associated with the migration
to the western frontier, however, it’s no wonder
in time and place.
re-envisioned and reconstructed in 1918 by
entrepreneur spencer Penrose, the art collection at the Broadmoor is part history lesson,
collection consists of works by self-taught artists—paintings that originally were conceived
for documentation purposes, not as art. think
native americans on horseback, idealistic goldseekers, wary fur-traders, fearless cowboys, and
istics were a bushy beard and a well-oiled gun.

each larger-than-life painting, such as alfred
Jacob Miller’s “the lost Greenhorn” or william
ranney’s “trapper’s last shot,” reveals a slice
of historical narrative.
Playing off the dramatic light and grandeur
of the rockies, the Broadmoor’s collection also
includes works by famed Hudson river school
artists albert Bierstadt and thomas Moran,
mercial successes and inspired many eastern
landscapists to make the dangerous trek west.

Thomas Moran’s “Children Of The Mountain,” at
The Broadmoor

Grand Hotel
Often called “america’s summer Place,” the
Grand Hotel on Michigan’s Mackinac island
transports visitors back to an era when horsedrawn carriages were a common mode of transportation rather than a novelty. automobiles
have been banned on the island since 1898,
and the Grand Hotel continues to embrace that
same historic sensibility.
though modest in scope, the art collection at
the Grand Hotel has a back story as quaint as its
surroundings. for the past 20 years, detroit-area
residents richard and Jane Manoogian have
loaned the hotel a different part of their extensive private art collection. Operating under this
year’s theme, american impressionism, the
Grand Hotel is exhibiting 37 pieces, including
two works by portrait painter and watercolor-

ist John singer sargent, one by impressionist
painter edward H. Potthast and one by impressionist painter Childe Hassam. additional
works of note include franz Biberstein’s
“world’s Columbian exposition, Chicago”
(1893); frank w. Benson’s “three Children”
(1907) and “Portrait of elizabeth tyson russell”
(1907); and singer sa