When Mona Poor-Olschafskie graduated from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in 2011 she planned to carry on the family tradition and pursue a career in the arts.
The Brooklyn and Massachusetts based printmaker is taking the reins on a multigenerational project that dates back 100 years
Mona Poor-Olschafskie is the great-granddaughter of Henry Varnum Poor, the celebrated artist whose work is showcased in permanent collections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum, and other museums across the country. Born in 1887, Poor created beautifully detailed, double-sided etchings while serving in World War I; some on tin, others on different types of etching plates and while over seas in the war, he sent them home to print at a later date. The etchings were an economical decision for a soldier; Poor would work on them sometimes using both sides when the situation allowed, and then place them in his pocket and move forth with the troops
A Renaissance man, Poor's work transcends mediums. In addition to painting, and ceramics, the self-taught architect enjoyed the meditative nature of construction. He traveled to Rockland County, New York at the end of the Great War, and designed a stone house based on the French farms he saw in France during the war, where he would spend the rest of his life. Called Crow House, the property was named for the birds circling nearby when Poor built the structure. From the hinges, and furniture, to the doors, plates and rugs, Poor made the house a home for his family by forging every last detail with his bare hands. Once Poor was established in the New York painters arts seen , In 1946, the Kansas native was one of the founders of the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine, and continued making art until his death in 1970.
It was at Crow House alongside her mother, the well known sculptor Anna Poor, while removing the contents to keep them from neglect is where, in 2016 they discovered the blackened etchings plates tucked way in the back of a closet etchings created by Henry Varnum Poor himself during World War I. For one hundred years these works hadn't seen the light of day; and yet, intent on celebrating his legacy, Poor's great-granddaughter has set off to unveil his century-old adroitness. After the process of removing the unwanted from the plates, and bringing them back to life, Mona Poor-Olschafskie has produced a beautiful modern portfolio of 48 prints depicting the unseen works of one of the nations most revered 20th-century artists.
Because of Poor-Olschafskie's long standing relationship at The Fine Arts Works Center (FAWC) in Provincetown, Massachusetts, generously offered their print workshop, and Mona Poor-Olschafskie printed the ambitious 48-print portfolio project in honor of her great-grandfather. FAWC works closely with the abovementioned Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, which makes the undertaking even more meaningful for the Poor family. In collaboration with her mother Anna Poor, who is guiding the project, Mona Poor-Olschafskie is offering a fresh, modern take on the late Henry Varnum Poor's prints.
Portfolio
And now, after years of stalled preservation efforts by the town overseers, the Poor family continues its fight on making Crow House a museum. They wish to maintain the space as it was when Henry Varnum Poor lived and worked there. The two-story property has been deemed a National Historic Landmark, and should be open to the public. For now, Anna Poor and Mona Poor-Olschafskie, with help from other family members, are putting forth their best effort to save Crow House.
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