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Great nephew visits ancestor's Keokuk art works
By Cindy Iutzi/Gate City Staff Writer
A descendent of the man who painted the portrait of Chief Keokuk in the 1850s visited the picture Wednesday at Keokuk City Hall.
Chief Keokuk's likeness dominates the city council chambers, reminding all who sit there of the city's history and how things have developed in the last 161 years.
Myron Nollen, 93, Pella, admired his great uncle Gerard Nollen's rendition of Chief Keokuk.
“That's probably what the old guy looked like,” Nollen told Keokuk Mayor David Gudgel, who paints some himself.
The painting of Chief Keokuk has become quite dark over the years, but still gives the sense of a proud man who has held on to dignity despite the hardships of Native Americans in the late 1700s and 1800s.
Myron, a retired farmer who, according to his daughter Joan Nossaman, Pella, also is an accomplished woodworker and furniture maker, said his great uncle came to Pella from the Netherlands.
Gerard Nollen moved to Keokuk from Pella when he was about 24 and settled in. He opened a couple of studios and began painting portraits.
Myron believes a studio was established in the area of Eighth and Main and a another was at First Avenue.
Gerard Nollen married in his late 30s, but his wife died in childbirth. The child died shortly after.
“He just wasn't the same after that,” Myron said.
Gerard Nollen moved back to Pella after having lived and painted in Keokuk for 10 years.
Back in Pella he painted landscapes, some local and some of Holland, and portraits.
Nollen's art is on display in Pella.
“There are “probably quite a few paintings around Keokuk,” Myron said. “He did a lot of work in his 10 years.”
One of those works hangs in the United Presbyterian Church lobby, 102 Main.
The painting is Gerard's rendition of Raphael's Sistine Chapel Madonna.
He duplicated much of the famous work, but removed the dark blue curtains above and to either side of the Madonna in his painting. The colors are vibrant and the painting is light and open.
The painting at the church is signed by Gerard Nollen and dated 1857.
Gudgel said there are probably many of Nollen's paintings in Keokuk that are unknown, ready to be discovered.
Myron said his great uncle sometimes went by the name Garret Nollen.
Chief Keokuk's likeness dominates the city council chambers, reminding all who sit there of the city's history and how things have developed in the last 161 years.
Myron Nollen, 93, Pella, admired his great uncle Gerard Nollen's rendition of Chief Keokuk.
“That's probably what the old guy looked like,” Nollen told Keokuk Mayor David Gudgel, who paints some himself.
The painting of Chief Keokuk has become quite dark over the years, but still gives the sense of a proud man who has held on to dignity despite the hardships of Native Americans in the late 1700s and 1800s.
Myron, a retired farmer who, according to his daughter Joan Nossaman, Pella, also is an accomplished woodworker and furniture maker, said his great uncle came to Pella from the Netherlands.
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Myron believes a studio was established in the area of Eighth and Main and a another was at First Avenue.
Gerard Nollen married in his late 30s, but his wife died in childbirth. The child died shortly after.
“He just wasn't the same after that,” Myron said.
Gerard Nollen moved back to Pella after having lived and painted in Keokuk for 10 years.
Back in Pella he painted landscapes, some local and some of Holland, and portraits.
Nollen's art is on display in Pella.
“There are “probably quite a few paintings around Keokuk,” Myron said. “He did a lot of work in his 10 years.”
One of those works hangs in the United Presbyterian Church lobby, 102 Main.
The painting is Gerard's rendition of Raphael's Sistine Chapel Madonna.
He duplicated much of the famous work, but removed the dark blue curtains above and to either side of the Madonna in his painting. The colors are vibrant and the painting is light and open.
The painting at the church is signed by Gerard Nollen and dated 1857.
Gudgel said there are probably many of Nollen's paintings in Keokuk that are unknown, ready to be discovered.
Myron said his great uncle sometimes went by the name Garret Nollen.
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Mike wrote on Jul 24, 2008 3:26 PM: