Throughout May, the Starkweather Art Center will have an art show on the work of Evelyn Raiter.
For those who don't know, Evelyn Raiter is a self-taught oil painter and long-time Romeo resident. Her work usually involves historic homes and barns in the Romeo area like the one seen above.
One of the highlights of her career was winning Best of Show in the Romeo Guild of Art's Thumb Area Art Exhibit during the Romeo Peach Festival in 1998. Jim Wallington - News Editor of The Romeo Observer - wrote an article about that moment for the September 9, 1998 issue. According to the story, Evelyn won it with a painting called "Tubspring Road Barn." The real barn is located on Tubspring Road east of Van Dyke Road and north of Almont.
Wallington also pointed out that this was Evelyn's second win in the art exhibition. She previously took Best of Show back in 1976 with an oil painting called "A More Peaceful Time" under the name Evelyn Jackman.
A fun fact about the "Tubspring Road Barn" painting is that it isn't really hers. The oil was purchased by Dick and Mary Seaton of Armada four years prior, and Evelyn finished the painting hours before the exhibit opened at the Body & Soul Wellness Center on Main Street. The Seatons saw it for the fist time that weekend.
The picture seen here was one of the extra photos Wallington took at the event, but it wasn't used in The Romeo Observer. I still chose to show this one because I love how ecstatic Evelyn looks.
As she explains in the article, "I knew this painting was good enough to win something and as Don [Bullis] announced the honorable mentions and category winners, I was perplexed...I wasn't confident it was going to be No. 1; there is so much good art in this show. I felt like a kid winning a prize when he announced my name."
For winning Best of Show, Evelyn received prize money from The Romeo Observer. This is ironic because she used to set type there from 1968 to 1972. Also, Melvin and Joan Bleich commissioned her to create a painting of their home on 180 Church Street in 1988. That one is currently housed at the Romeo Community Archives, and it will be a part of the art show at the Starkweather Art Center.
It's hard to say if the "Tubspring Road Barn" painting will be in it as well, for Evelyn mentioned back in 1998, "There still may be a couple of things I want to do, but I'm afraid the Seatons are going to want to take it home."
Let's hope it finds a way to be included because it's a stunning work of art.
The art show on Evelyn's work will begin on Friday, May 2.
To learn more about Evelyn Raiter, you can contact the Romeo Community Archives at rca@romemodistrictlibrary.org and/or check out the Starkweather Art Center. The latter is open 10:00 am to 4:00 pm on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
Images and sources courtesy of the Romeo Community Archives; Melvin E. and Joan D. Bleich Collection, The Romeo Observer, September 9, 1976, p.1 and September 9, 1998, p. 2-A