On September 13, artist Dana Hatchett will be exhibiting a series of drawings that depict reimagined historic images of the Erie Canal. The show will be held at the Buffalo History Museum. BRO asked Hatchett about his inspirations behind the drawings, and he had this to say:
“In 2016, my friend Hugh Pratt was discussing promoting his play “Clinton’s Ditch,” for the Erie Canal’s upcoming 200th anniversary. After hearing his enthusiasm, I went to the Buffalo History Museum and looked at photographs of the Erie Canal from the late 1800s and early 1900s. I fell in love with the architecture, the boats, and the shape of the canal in the old photographs. I started drawing from these images, as well as images from other history museums, and the more I drew the more I loved this era. I feel like I am creating a visual history of the period through art and the more I work on this project, the more my interest grows. I have learned a tremendous amount about how important the canal was in shaping life around it. It is fascinating that so much history existed in Buffalo and along the route of the canal which then was simply buried as industrialization and modes of transportation changed. My drawings are a rediscovery of the past that I want to share with others.”
Hatchett’s drawings are currently on exhibit in the Schenectady Historical Society’s Mabee Farms site. In September he will be showing at the Buffalo History Museum, the Rochester Museum & Science Center, and the Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse. His work will also be displayed in the Waterford History Museum starting in November.
More information on Hatchett can be found at www.danahatchettstudios.com.
The opening of the exhibit of Erie Canal drawings at the Buffalo History Museum in on September 13, 2017.
Opening of Erie Canal Reimagined: Drawings by Dana Hatchett
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
5 PM – 8 PM
Buffalo History Museum
One Museum Court, Buffalo, New York 14216
