Nancy Rogal : For the Love of Lake George

Huston Gallery

Opening Reception
Thursday, February 21
5pm - 8pm

Nancy Rogal's solo exhibit, For the Love of Lake George, reflects her intimate knowledge of a region of upper New York state that has been a cultural hub and vacation haven for centuries. Nancy's ties to the area include family connections from both sides including that of her great grandfather, an early shipping insurer who built the family homestead, Crow's Nest, in 1895. Nancy grew up in Schenectady and has summered at Lake George her whole life.

She now lives in Chester County but Lake George remains a favorite subject. In addition to exploring its geography – she hikes, boats and swims – Nancy has captured the moods and seasons of Lake George, painting nearly every nook and corner of the region over the course of a half century of painting. She has also written two histories of the region (drawing on her family's collection of more than 2,000 vintage photographs) and is active as a conservationist and a lecturer. Her exhibit of more than 60 paintings includes such area landscapes as a beach, a stream and the northwest bay of the 32-mile long Lake George.

Nancy holds a degree in art from Skidmore College. A consummate joiner of local art centers, Nancy has been a member of the Chester County Art Association since 1969 and was a teacher in its early summer arts program, formed in the 1970s. She and her husband have lived all over the United States; Nancy says that she joined an art center at each new home. When she moved to Mission Viejo, California, there was no art center so she established one.

She hopes that visitors will see For the Love of Lake George as a portrait of a beloved place that has been captured in a more pastoral, sublime time. "[High] taxes have forced many people to either sub-divide or leave the area," Nancy said of the Lake George region of recent years.

first image: Moonlight by Nancy Rogal

second image: Sunlit Narrows by Nancy Rogal