Jared Whipple stands next to a painting by Francis Hines that was found in a dumpster in Watertown, Conn. in 2017.An exhibit of that art will open May 5 at the Hollis Taggart galley in Southport, which is known for showing the works of lost or forgotten artists. After fading into obscurity, the late artist Francis Hines is gaining new attention after a car mechanic rescued hundreds of his paintings from a dumpster in Connecticut.
Hines made a good living as an illustrator for magazines and the G. Fox department store, and his personal art was about the process, not about selling or displaying his work, said Peter Hastings Falk, an art historian who is helping curate the exhibit. “In today’s art world there is a definite interest in different mediums — textiles, fabrics and ceramics — people are trying to find new and innovative ways to present contemporary art,” Taggart said. “He did that back in the ’80s. He was somewhat of a visionary.”
“But at the same time, you would never think there was any type of importance or value there, because they are all in a dumpster,” he said.