Special Events

Henry Dietrich Gallery
150 Winslow Way East

Opening reception:
Friday, June 3, 2011

Due to a series of serendipitous events that could only happen on this Island, Bainbridge Arts and Crafts will open a temporary art gallery across the street.  BAC was approached by Islander Tom Lonner, who asked for our help in selling numerous paintings and other smaller graphics left to him by his friend, Henry Dietrich. Landlord Earl Miller welcomed the idea of a temporary gallery in his vacant space at 150 Winslow Way East. The happy result is the Henry Dietrich Gallery.

Dietrich, a Jewish refugee from Berlin during the Third Reich, lived and painted in San Francisco for over 40 years. He painted in a strong mid-twentieth century style, brightly-colored, graphic, and obviously influenced by Henri Matisse. Henry Dietrich’s charming imagery includes birds, insects, dogs, music, and domestic life.

As Winslow Way businesses bravely cope with a summer of recession and construction, Mr. Lonner is sure that the temporary Henry Dietrich Gallery will add a colorful brushstroke to the street.  He says, “I am not interested in making money from these paintings.  BAC graciously agreed to perform all the work to create a professional gallery. My motivation is to find homes for these wonderful works of art, and the net proceeds will go to BAC’s educational programs.”  Sales of Dietrich’s paintings at BAC’s main gallery will continue to benefit the West Sound Wildlife Shelter.

Mr. Lonner will be in the new gallery often, and will be happy to talk with visitors about the artist and his work. For more information about Henry Dietrich, please visit the Henry Dietrich Collection.

WOW! Watch Our Windows!

For the first time ever, we have offered our exhibition window to artists, asking them to create installations designed to intrigue, amuse, and delight us all. While we know what these artists usually do, we have no idea what they will come up with for their installations.

Check back often – these windows may change during the month – you never know!

April – Susan Jackson, David Sessions, & Victoria Josslin: Momentous Days of the Month

May – BHS Design 2 class; Mary Rowland, teacher

June – Raquel Stanek and David Sessions

July – Joan Peter and Laurie Lewis (neon)

August – Linda Costello (paper engineer)

September – Jessica Spring (letterpress artist)

October – Greg Kono (kite master and toymaker)

November – Laurel Lukaszewski (ceramic artist)

THANK YOU!
BAC'S 8th Annual Art Book Drive was a great success!

If you donated books, Thank You! If you bought books, Thank You! If you did both, Thank You Squared! Remember that the Drive may be over, but the Program goes on all year. Every penny goes to the Bainbridge Library to buy beautiful new books on art, architecture and design.

A Collaboration
between Bainbridge Arts and Crafts and
The West Sound Wildlife Shelter

These exceptional paintings are available through a partnership between West Sound Wildlife Shelter and Bainbridge Arts and Crafts. These two organizations, which seem to have little in common, find themselves happily bound together through art, and see their association as reflecting the very best of community on Bainbridge Island.

Bainbridge residents Tom Lonner and his wife, Elizabeth Ward, a Shelter board member, are generously giving The West Sound Wildlife Shelter a number of paintings by Henry J. Dietrich to support the Shelter’s operations. The Shelter turned to BAC as a collegial nonprofit partner for help with the sale of the work.  Together with the donors, we have created an ongoing exhibition and sale of Dietrich paintings which will last far into the future, benefiting both Bainbridge Island nonprofit organizations.

The West Sound Wildlife Shelter and Bainbridge Arts and Crafts sincerely thank Tom Lonner and Elizabeth Ward for their enduring gift.

Henry J. Dietrich

Born in Berlin in 1918, Henry J. Dietrich entered Die Kunstschule des Westens, Berlin’s premier school of design and art, at age 16, intending to be a graphic artist.  By age twenty, he had fled to Shanghai as a Jewish refugee from the Third Reich, where he spent many years tirelessly trying to emigrate to the United States.

Finally in 1948, Dietrich arrived in San Francisco where the first exhibitions of his paintings were mounted at the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum. He was hired by The San Francisco Chronicle in their art department where he worked as an illustrator and cartoonist for thirty-three years.

Throughout his life, Dietrich continued to paint as much as possible. After unhappy business experiences with art galleries, Dietrich lost his interest in exhibiting or selling his paintings.  He really painted for himself.  His work is firmly rooted in mid-century European modernism, with strong echoes of great masters of twentieth-century art like Matisse and Picasso. 

From the mid-1940s until his death, Dietrich produced about five hundred paintings.   He kept no inventory of his works, so the exact number cannot be determined. He died on March 27, 2000, leaving an extraordinary legacy behind for us to enjoy.

IMAGE: Henry J. Dietrich, 131. Acrylic on canvas.

BANNER IMAGE : Caroline Cooley Browne, A Community. Woven vessels. Photo courtesy of the artist. More>>