The Art of George W. Hallock; essay by Geoffrey K. Fleming (original) (raw)

Editor's note: The following essay and bibliography was published on January 19, 2013 in Resource Library with permission of Southold Historical Society and Geoffrey K. Fleming. If you have questions or comments regarding the texts, please contact theSociety atP.O. Box 1, Southold, NY 11971, or via the following phone number or web address:

Determined to Paint: The Art of George W. Hallock

By Geoffrey K. Fleming

Copyright 2012, Southold Historical Society

"Painting is a faith, and it imposes the duty to disregard public opinion."

- Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890)

Foreword

This essay, which was included as part of an exhibition held at the Southold Historical Society in 2012, is long overdue for an artist about which little was known until recently. I must admit that I am biased when it comes to the paintings of George W. Hallock. I fell in love with his work after seeing just a few examples and was always surprised that there were not more available for viewing locally. This essay finally fills the need and provides to the public just a small look at his life, work, and career.

I wish to thank all the members of the Historical Society's Exhibitions Committee, including Margaret 'Lee' Cleary, Helen Didriksen, Amy Folk, Walter R. Jackson, and Elyse 'Chris' Wruck. Their support was essential in making the exhibition a reality. Many of the paintings in the exhibition came from both the Society's holdings, private collections, and the Hallock family. Thanks are also due to Griffin Quist and Deanna Witte-Walker for their help in editing this text.

I also wish to thank Don Boerum and Ted Rackett for their aid, the Alumni Office and Archives of Oberlin College, and especially June Hallock Koch and her brother, George W. Hallock IV for their insight into their father's life and career. In addition to the interesting facts and stories they were able to provide, they were more than gracious in allowing us access to the many paintings which they retain in their collection.

THE HALLOCK FAMILY

To come from a prominent and important family is a benefit few of us are lucky enough to receive; however the artist George Whitfield Hallock III (1916-1984) was indeed lucky, being a descendant of the Hallock family of Southold, Long Island, New York. The family's progenitor was Peter Hallock (1600-1688), who arrived in what is now Southold c. 1640 as one of the original settlers of one of the two first permanent English settlements in New York State, the other being Southampton, New York. [1]

His great-grandfather and namesake, George Whitfield Hallock I (1824-1903) originally farmed in a place named "Franklinville," today's hamlet of Laurel, New York. He trained as teacher at the Franklinville Academy, traveled west in 1847, but soon returned to marry his sweetheart, Hannah Terry.[2] He moved his family to Orient, New York in 1871 and established his farming business there under the name "George W. Hallock and Son."[3] A temperance man, he ran for the position of Supervisor of Southold, State Assemblyman, and was at one time nominated for the position of Lt. Governor of the state of New York.[4]The family residence in Orient was known far and wide as "Halyoake Farm," "Halyoake" being an earlier phonetic spelling the Hallock name.[5]

His son, Lucius Henry Hallock (1853-1933) left his father's farm in Franklinville in 1870 and learned the trade of a carpenter. He was forced to retire form this trade following the death of his brother, Ezra Y. Hallock (1854-1874) from scarlet fever.[6] Lucius dutifully joined his father at the new farm in Orient and following his father's death in 1903 became the senior partner in the family's burgeoning "... farm gardeners and produce dealers..." business.[7] He is generally credited as being responsible for the immense success the farm had during the first quarter of the 20th century.[8]

Lucius H. Hallock's son, George Whitfield Hallock II (1892-1967), also joined in the family business and was eventually placed in charge of the greenhouse portion of the family enterprise.[9]Though he worked on the farm, his training actually lay elsewhere, having attended the Bliss Electrical College (Washington, D.C.) and the Eastman Gaines Business School in New York City. George II married Jeannette Young of Jamaica in 1913 and to them a son, named George Whitfield Hallock III, was born on the 22nd of July 1916. [10]It is this child who would eventually become an artist.

THE HALYOAKE FARM

Life in Orient, Long Island is a quiet existence at the best of times. Rural and isolated, it was not uncommon for people living there to talk of "going to the city" and meaning that they were traveling to Riverhead -- just twenty-seven miles away -- and not New York City -- which was one hundred and seven miles away.

George Whitfield Hallock III (known locally as George W. Hallock Jr. as his great-grandfather and namesake was not living) was raised along with his young brother, Norman, in the idyllic surroundings of "Halyoake Farm." As it would be the farm and the surrounding land and inlets that young Hallock would make his subject during the majority of his artistic career, a history of the property is in order.

The Hallock farm, located along Peter's Neck Bay, was purchased in 1870 for the sum of $7,500, which included close to fifty acres of land.[11] The farm, being not that successful, had been let out for a number of years prior to the Hallock family making the purchase. To revitalize the depleted soil, they put in "Stable manure by the Schooner-load," that was transported to the site from New York City, as well as "fish scrap and potash salts" to further improve the land. [12] Long time residents predicted bankruptcy and trip to the county poorhouse due to the amount of money the Hallocks were pouring into the land.[13] It took three years, but eventually their crops began to yield abundance and farm became a successful enterprise. A regional newspaper concluded:

"Of course this means more work than and more care than any other kind of farming, but the gratification which comes from success in such large undertakings amply repays, to say nothing of new houses, implements, and an increased bank account."[14]

By the 1880s the farm had grown to consist of fifty-eight acres, then sixty-eight by 1891, and later expanding to seventy-eight acres by the late 1890s and was known regionally as an extremely successful enterprise, one newspaper quoting their success as "...a marvelous exhibit."[15] Originally, they shipped many goods to various cities in the northeast using up to five sloops, but finding this expensive and inconvenient they purchased their own steamer in 1888 and shipped out their products (and their neighbors products) directly from their own dock.[16] City papers noted that the profitability of "...farming on Long Island may be shown in the following figures of the crops on George W. Hallock and Son's farm..." which included 15,000 bushels of carrots and 275,000 cabbage plants " to carry over."[17] By 1910, the farm was so successful that it was awarded the coveted title of "...banner farm of the Empire State."[18]

The overall successful management of the farm continued into the next few decades under the leadership of Lucius Hallock. By 1920, one visiting reporter remarked "There is no doubt that the farm of George W. Hallock & Son, at Orient, is one of the most up-to-date and best paying truck farms in the country," being both "well located" and "scientifically managed."[19] During this period, as many as fifty farm laborers lived in specially constructed dormitories on the farm while Lucius Hallock negotiated produce prices from his own long distance equipped telephone building nearby.[20] While much was said of how well George W. Sr. and Lucius Hallock operated the farm, some of the success is certainly due to the work of Wallace E. Jagger (1847-1908) and John H. Jagger (1884-1939), a father and son who from 1877 until 1938 worked as the successive managers of "Halyoake Farm."[21]

The death of Lucius Hallock followed so soon by the death of long time manager John Jagger, left George W. Hallock II with much to deal with. During World War II, Hallock and his superintendent, Warren Vail, helped with the victory effort by using high school girls from the "Farm Cadet Victory Corps" to help pick potatoes and do other general work on the farm while men were fighting overseas.[22] Local papers noted that when picking became light "...Hallock found some odd jobs for them to do and kept them busy."[23]

Like his father before him, George W. Hallock II did not really want to be farmer. His father Lucius had trained to be a carpenter and builder, and only joined the farm when his brother, Ezra, died in 1874. The same befell George when his brother, Ellis, died in 1913.[24] Both Ezra and Ellis Hallock had wanted to work on the farm, and their deaths forced their brothers to take on responsibilities that either they did not want or for which they were really not prepared. While Lucius Hallock ended up being very successful, his son George was less so. He was not a businessman like his father, he was more artistic, enjoying photography and music as well as growing roses, and designing and planting the gardens on the farm.[25] More than anything else he wanted to be an electrician. Throughout his life, he kept a laboratory above the forge/blacksmith shop where he experimented with and built batteries.[26]

It would be George W. Hallock III that would finally end the era of dutiful, yet unhappy and unfulfilled sons. It is reported that he told his father in no uncertain terms that he did not want to be a farmer and that he would not take on the management of the farm. This being the case George W. Hallock II would retire in 1954 and lease out the farm to Edwin King, a neighbor and cousin.[27] In 1962, he began selling off various buildings which were not of use to his new tenant. He would finally sell the farm in 1965, excluding the family home, to investors from Huntington, Long Island.[28] The home was sold soon after to the noted American sculptor Robert Berks who moved the old Orient schoolhouse next door for use as a studio.[29] So ended the tenure in Orient of the Hallocks of "Halyoake Farm."

GEORGE HALLOCK THE PAINTER

George W. Hallock III was in many ways like his father, much more of an artist than a farmer. He was a good photographer, enjoyed music, and was an organist.[30] As a young man he is thought to have had his first training as a painter under William Steeple Davis (1884-1961), an artist who lived his entire life in Orient, Long Island. As a nearby neighbor, it would have been very easy for the young Hallock to work and study with Davis. Hallock's son, George W. Hallock IV, remarked in an interview that he believed Davis "mentored" his father and that ...he 'picked the brains' of other local artists like Davis "[31] He is also suspected of studying with the Greenport artist, Whitney M. Hubbard (1875-1965), who taught at the Suffolk Conservatory of Music and Arts in Riverhead and in the adult education department at Greenport High School.[32] If he did study with Hubbard, it could only have been either through classes held at the conservatory or through privates lessons, as Hubbard only taught at the high school many years after Hallock began painting. [33]

As a young man Hallock worked on the farm but set his sights on going away to college to study music. He had already studied music locally with Herbert Vail. Hallock was accepted and left to attend Oberlin College in Ohio in September of 1935 where fellow neighbor and future artist, Albert Latham (1909-1976), was also studying.[34] While Latham became homesick and returned to Orient, Hallock thrived while away at college, attending the conservatory of music in addition to his regular classes, however he did not graduate, deciding to leave in January of 1938.[35] It is not clear why he returned to Orient and did not complete his degree, though it may have had something to do with his interest in a young woman from his hometown.

Upon his return to Orient he began playing the organ for the Methodist Episcopal Church in Orient, where the family regularly attended services. Around that same time he set up a gift shop in nearby Greenport at 400 Main Street named "The Hallocks," where he sold flowers from his father's greenhouses while also offering gift items, including his own paintings, for sale. The shop also supplied "general printing" services to its customers.[36]

George ended up staying close to home when choosing whom he would wed, marrying farm superintendent Warren Vail's daughter, Lillian (1912-2004).[37] However, the marriage did not take place in Orient. The idea of a Hallock marrying "one of the help" would probably have been too much for Mary Hallock, Lucius's widow, to handle. Instead, George and Lillian secretly traveled up to Medford, Long Island where they were married on the 26th of March, 1938 by Arthur R. Reich, Justice of the Peace.[38]

The gift shop closed for business prior to the United States entry into World War II. The closure may have been strategic, as George W. Hallock III could be exempted from service if he was working on the farm and deemed strategic to its support of the war effort. This ended up being the case, though his younger brother would not be so lucky. Norman Hallock enlisted or was drafted for service in September of 1942 as he was about to start his final year of college. [39]

Following the war George W. Hallock III continued working on the family farm while also being employed at Academy Printing, located in Southold, Long Island. In the late 1950s, he joined the staff working on the newly formed Plum Island Laboratory, located just east of Orient on Plum Island, which opened in 1954 [40]. The lab provided good paying jobs and a large new crowd of young professionals were moving into the area to support its operations.

It was also during the 1950s that Hallock traveled to New York City to further study painting. The location of the classes are somewhat of a mystery as in his letters home, he does not note where he is studying. He arrived in New York City on Friday, the 27th of November 1953, and was staying at the YMCA on west sixty-third street while he took classes. In a letter written the following day he noted that he had to go "...uptown to register for my course**...**"[41] The location where he had to sign up was thirteen or fourteen block south of 103 Street.[42] It seems that this would indicate that in fact he was taking courses at the 92nd Street YMCA, a leader in the arts since the establishment of its Art Center in 1930. [43]

He remarked in several later letters to his wife about the classes he was taking and some of the instructors. He notes that he was studying with accomplished American painters Donald Pierce (1926-2010) and Frederic Taubes (1900-1981), the later who wrote more than forty books on painting. Hallock remarked that "I am particularly interested in Donald Pierce -- as are most of his students, who like him better than Taubes."[44] He noted further:

"Of course it is too soon to judge yet, but it does seem that you get much more direct instruction and concise explanations with Pierce -- plus the fact, of course, that with him the subject matter is of our own choice. Mr. Taubes is much more inclined to 'waste' a lot of time in generalities on art -- and you might say 'art gossip' -- much like his column in American Artist."[45]

It is clear that he would spend his time studying in the city for several days, and return to Pennsylvania between courses. This lasted for about two months, from late November 1953 through early January 1954. He remarked in December that he was working on paintings of the city, and that the aspects of doing so were quite new to him:

"I'm just beginning to get the hang of composing sky-scraper paintings. I can see Central Park by looking diagonally though my window and I've been doing a lot of sketches of the buildings across the way. They're not only difficult to arrange, but the colors are so different from the usual things we have at home. When you see the buildings quite far away with a lazy atmosphere, they become very delicate tints of pick, green, lavender, et. In the afternoon they're a soft rosy color."[46]

Hallock was always studying or working on paintings, determined to paint, as his daughter noted:

"As very young children, we knew that our father worked at something for a living and then spent the rest of the time painting. I remember times when he spent hours in his studio doing oils; sometime in later years it seems that he predominately did watercolors sitting in a chair in the living room."[47]

As was the case for many of the artists working on the North Fork, there were not many opportunities to exhibit and sell paintings or other artworks. A few, like Hallock, operated their own stores and galleries, at least briefly, to try and accomplish this aim. This included Joseph Di Gemma and Vincent Quatroche who both opened their own studios/stores to the public during the late 1940s. This would all change with the creation of the Old Town Arts and Crafts Guild, located in Cutchogue, New York.

The Guild was founded in 1950 with the aim of promoting and selling works by local and regional artists, offering "...lectures, demonstrations, and special exhibits during the course of the year which will promote interest and active participation in various arts and crafts..."[48] This new organization offered a number of opportunities to exhibit, including solo shows as well as their ever popular "snow fence" sales, which took place on the grounds of the Guild's property in Cutchogue during the summer months.

Hallock was part of the group that founded the Guild and in 1951, was elected at the age of thirty-five as the second vice president of the newly formed organization. He also served as the chairman of the membership committee.[49] Hallock did not stand for re-election after his first year of service. It is not clear why Hallock did not continue to serve on the board following his first term which concluded in 1952. It may have been too difficult for him to meet the minimum number of volunteer shifts per month which were required of every member by the Guild.

There may have also been another reason. Like his father, he was a quiet, reserved person. As one local resident noted, he was incredibly shy, which may have been another cause for his limited participation in the Guild and for his lack of interest in exhibiting his paintings.[50] In fact, there is really no concrete evidence that Hallock exhibited his paintings anywhere on eastern Long Island. Though he may have shown a few at the Guild, not a single reference can be found to him exhibiting elsewhere. According to his daughter, Hallock ...was extremely critical of his own work" and that on occasion "...when my father felt that sense of having accomplished something which pleased him, he signed [the painting]." His son noted that he never wanted ...to be judged " and was ...never satisfied by his work [and] did not believe it was ever good enough."

By the early 1960s, with the family farm firmly leased out and his parents enjoying Florida more and more, Hallock moved his family, which included a son (George Whitfield IV) and daughter (June Allison), to Merion, Pennsylvania where he took up watercolor painting in addition to his work in oil. His children did not really know why the move was made to Pennsylvania. One of the probable reasons was the distance from the family farm -- by moving away he could not be called to do something and could not be "pulled back in."[51] Another issue was the need to find full-time employment, which was difficult to acquire on eastern Long Island. The choice of Merion may also have been influenced by the presence of the Barnes Foundation, the famous collection of impressionist paintings assembled by Dr. Albert Barnes, which was open to students studying art on a regular basis. In reality, there could not have been a better place for Hallock to live but in a community full of so much great art.

Settled in Pennsylvania, Hallock's daughter remembered going out with him as he looked for interesting views to paint near their home:

"When we moved to Merion, Pa I remember taking trips into Philadelphia's Fairmount Park where he would sketch a bridge spanning the Schuylkill River or visit Merion Park near our home and sketch or photograph the stream; along it trees and rocks and beautiful flowers, then go home and spend hours doing watercolors from his memory and sketches."[52]

In Pennsylvania, Hallock first worked for Cummins Printing and later at Westminster Press in Philadelphia, from where he retired in the early 1970s. In about 1972 he and his wife decided to sell their home in Merion and build a new home in St. Peter's, Chester County, Pennsylvania.[53] When they were moving from Merion to Chester County, unable to keep everything, Hallock threw away many paintings out on the street that had been kept in the basement, as there was only so much that they could take to their new home. His daughter salvaged many by driving over to the house and tossing them into her car. [54]

By the early 1980s, George W. Hallock III had suffered from poor health for a number of years, experiencing a number of heart attacks. His ill health finally caught up of him on the 4th of February 1984 when he died of heart failure at Phoenixville Hospital in Pennsylvania at the age of sixty-eight.[55] He was cremated, and there was no formal burial of his ashes. His widow, Lillian, survived him, dying three decades after her husband.

HALLOCK'S ARTWORK

As an artist, Hallock greatly admired the Swedish-American impressionist painter John Fabian Carlson, N.A. (1874-1945), whose works he constantly clipped out of magazines and books for reference.[56] Carlson founded his own school of landscape painting in Woodstock, New York, in 1922 and in 1942 co-founded a summer school in Gloucester, Massachusetts with noted maritime artist Emile Gruppe (1896-1978). [57] Carlson was known as ...a proponent of juxtaposing light and shadow to capture the changing moods of nature," something that Hallock picked up on early in his career.[58]

Hallock painted primarily in oil, both with brush and palette knife, and worked during his early years on Upson boards, which were composed mainly of ground-wood and recycled paper products and were easily available at the farm.[59] Later, he began using prepared canvas boards sold by art supply stores, though he did occasionally paint on stretched canvases. In addition to painting, Hallock also made and finished many of his own frames.[60] Sometimes his landscapes even began to resemble the paintings of his artistic idol, John Carlson.

Unlike many of his contemporaries on the North Fork of Long Island who exhibited widely, Hallock's works remained hidden until very recently due to his shyness and his near total lack of interest in exhibiting his paintings. This, in many ways, hurt his reputation as there were never many paintings available to exhibit, view, or purchase. In fact, he was a superior landscape and seascape painter compared to many of the other artists who were working on the North Fork from the 1930s through the 1950s. Only a few painters, such as fellow North Fork native Franklin Bennett (1908-2005), achieved a similar quality of painting as those created by George Hallock.

Subject wise, he focused heavily on his immediate surroundings, especially of views on the Hallock farm. Views of Peter's Neck, which was located on the farm grounds, were painted again and again at different times of day to achieve paintings reminiscent of Monet's famous haystack series. Views of the nearby villages of Greenport and Orient, and especially a similar series of the old village pier in the latter, abound in his works. He depicted buildings often at a distance but was never afraid to get up close to show the details. This is especially true of works that depict the Hallock farm, which show each building and their relationships illustrated in perfect color and light.

Though landscapes seemed to be the subject of many of his paintings, Hallock was equally interested in views of the water, whether it be along Long Island Sound or on Peconic Bay. In addition to general views of marshes and coastal plants, he chose to depict the rocky coast of the Sound often, while then moving onto works depicting the Hallock farm dock along Peconic Bay through the trees located south of the farm buildings. In Greenport a favorite location was Bishop's Boatyard, located along Sterling Creek, which Hallock depicted in a number of paintings, including one of his largest. Other small creeks and streams appeared often in his paintings. He also painted still-life studies with great regularity.

Hallock's use of color is perhaps the most identifiable aspect of his works. No matter where or when they were painted, his works are bright and colorful, and painted with a rich impasto, regardless of whether they were worked with a brush or palette knife. Sometime before the family's move to Pennsylvania, Hallock began thinning his oils creating a "pulling" effect on the surface of his paintings. Soon he was working almost exclusively in watercolors, which he found ...easier to store... " and "...more portable than working in oils" as he no longer had the large working space that he had in the farmhouse in Orient.[61] Like his oils, his watercolors and gouaches are bright and colorful, focusing heavily on the Pennsylvania landscapes and architecture he came to love.

The legacy of a painter like George W. Hallock III is difficult to ascertain. As he rarely exhibited his paintings, one could argue he has had little effect on the development of art on the North Fork. His near lack of participation in local exhibitions is unfortunate in many ways, not least of which is that he was among the best native painters working on eastern Long Island during a period when modernism and abstraction were pushing aside more traditional forms of artistic representation. Hallock could have provided a stylistic continuity between the impressionistic and post-impressionistic painters who were passing away, and their successors like himself. In the end, he was unable to overcome not wanting to be judged, and so he was not present to help moderate the transition locally.

Regardless of his own issues, paintings by George W. Hallock III are now among the most desirable in his native home due to their quality and scarcity. The large collection of oils and watercolors in the possession of his family, some of which form part of this catalog and exhibition, will hopefully render Hallock an even more improved standing than he once had. For as the Renaissance humanist, teacher, and social critic Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536) once noted: "Concealed talent brings no reputation."

1 Lucius H. Hallock, A Hallock Genealogy, (Orient, NY: Lucius H. Hallock), 1928, 532-33.

2 "Farmer Hallock Got Rich -- and Solved the Freight Problem by Buying a Steamboat," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 15 March 1896.

3 Ibid, 325.

4 "Voter's Directory," New York Evening Post, 2 November 1891.

5 Hallock, 12-13, 325.

6 Ibid, 293, 325.

7 Ibid, 461.

8 "Famous Farmer Dead," The Long Islander, 8 December 1933.

9 Hallock, 325-26.

10 Ibid.

11 Gerald Dennehy, The Halyoake Farm in Orient 1870-1954, (Orient, NY: Oysterponds Historical Society, 2008), 8.

12 "A Great Success in Farming," Newtown Register, 29 January 1891.

13 Ibid.

14 Ibid.

15 "Orient," Long Island Traveler, 8 February 1884; and "Long Island Improvements and Industries," Newtown Register, 7 February 1895; and "Does Farming Pay," Sag Harbor Express, 13 February 1890.

16 "Long Island Improvements and Industries,"Newtown Register, 17 July 1890. There appear to have been several steamers owned the Hallocks, the first was named "Judd Field" and was in service during the 1890s (See: "Farmer Hallock Got Rich ­ and Solved the Freight Problem by Buying a Steamboat," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 15 March 1896); another was the "Annex," and the third steamer, named "Halyoake" after the Hallock farm, was in service in the early 20th century and was badly damaged and nearly lost to fire while sitting at the main street (Village Lane) wharf in Orient in April of 1911. See: "Fire Fight in Best Clothes," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 18 April 1911. According to Gerald Dennehy a fourth, named the Halyoake II, was built in 1920.

17 "Long Island Improvements and Industries,"Newtown Register, 31 March 1898.

18 "Long Island Banner Farm," The Long Islander, (unknown day & month) 1911.

19 "The Orient Farm of George Hallock & Son,"Sag Harbor Express, 12 February 1920.

20 "Make Own Rain Showers on Orient's Wonder Farm; Long Island Showplace," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 29 December 1919. This article mentions the steamer "Annex."

21 "John Jagger," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1 April 1939. Jagger worked at the farm even earlier, as a ledger exists in the collection of the New York State Archives dating to 1894 that was kept by him while employed at Halyoake Farm; and Gerald Dennehy, The Halyoake Farm in Orient 1870-1954, 20-21.

22 "Girl Farm Cadets Like Their Jobs," County Review, 12 August 1943.

23 Ibid.

24 Gerald Dennehy, The Halyoake Farm in Orient 1870-1954, 16, 32.

25 Ibid, 40.

26 Geoffrey K. Fleming, interview with Donald Boerum, 2 April 2012, notes in author's files, Southold, Suffolk County, New York. The shop was located diagonally across from the main house on the farm.

27 Ibid, 45.

28 Ibid.

29 Ibid.

30 Ibid, 43.

31 Geoffrey K. Fleming, interview with June Hallock Koch and George W. Hallock IV, 3 May 2012, notes in author's files, Southold, Suffolk County, New York.

32 Geoffrey K. Fleming and Sara Evans, A Shared Aesthetic: Artists of Long Island's North Fork (Southold, NY: Southold Historical Society, 2008), 210.

33 Geoffrey K. Fleming, interview with Donald Boerum.

34 Ibid, and Oberlin College Alumni Office and Archives, email correspondence, spring 2012, notes in author's files, Southold, Suffolk County, New York.

35 Ibid.

36 Geoffrey K. Fleming and Sara Evans, A Shared Aesthetic, 206. An original label from the store is in possession of Hallock's daughter, June Hallock Koch. According to Donald Boerum, the shop was located across the street (north) from the Goldin Furniture building where a pizza shop is located today. The site at one time had a building with a group of stores, which has since vanished.

37 Geoffrey K. Fleming, interview with Donald Boerum.

38 Marriage certificate of George W. Hallock and Lillian Vail, 1938, original in the possession of June Hallock Koch, Sellersville, Pennsylvania.

39 "U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946," http://www.ancestry.com, accessed spring 2012. George W. Hallock IV confirmed that his father was indeed exempted from military service during World War II.

40 Geoffrey K. Fleming, interview with June Hallock Koch and George W. Hallock IV, 3 May 2012.

41 Letter from George W. Hallock to Lillian Hallock, 28 November 1953, copy held by the Southold Historical Society, Southold, Suffolk County, New York.

42 Ibid.

43 "92Y Historical Timeline," available on-line from: http://www.92y.org/92StreetY/media/MEDIA/ Interactive/ Timeline_New/92YTimeline_Main.html. The 92Y notes: "The 92Y Art Center faculty are not only excellent teachers -- they are accomplished artists in their own right."

44 Letter from George W. Hallock to Lillian Hallock, 2 December 1953, copy held by the Southold Historical Society, Southold, Suffolk County, New York.

45 Ibid.

46 Letter from George W. Hallock to Lillian Hallock, 6 December 1953, copy held by the Southold Historical Society, Southold, Suffolk County, New York.

47 Email correspondence from June Hallock Koch, 11 February 2012, notes in author's files, Southold, Suffolk County, New York.

48 Geoffrey K. Fleming and Sara Evans, A Shared Aesthetic, 150.

49 Ibid, 151; and "Activities Report January ,1952," Old Town Arts and Crafts Guild, original held by the Southold Historical Society, Southold, Suffolk County, New York.

50 Geoffrey K. Fleming, interview with Donald Boerum.

51 Geoffrey K. Fleming, interview with June Hallock Koch and George W. Hallock IV.

52 Email correspondence from June Hallock Koch.

53 Geoffrey K. Fleming, interview with June Hallock Koch and George W. Hallock IV.

54 Ibid.

55 Ibid; and "George Hallock Dies at 67," unknown Pennsylvania newspaper clipping, February 1984.

56 Ibid.

57 "John Fabian Carlson," biography, http://www.askart.com, accessed spring 2012.

58 Ibid.

59 Upson board was heavily advertised in the early 20th century as "The most dependable board made in America," (American Builder, Volume 25, 1918). The Minnesota wildlife artist, Les Kouba, (b. 1917) noted in his biography that the first painting he ever painted was created on a piece of Upson board found on his family's farm. He noted it was primarily "...used for attic insulation." See: http://country-art.com/les\_c\_kouba/les\_kouba\_biography.htm. The western painter Theodore Gegoux (1850-1931) also painted on Upson board during the early 20th century, see: "Biographical Sketch about Theodore Gegoux," available online at: http://www.gegoux.com/tgbio.htm. Also see: Susan Harb, "Along the St. Johns River, a Slice of Old Florida," New York Times, 19 December, 2004, in which Harb notes that the African American 'Florida Highwaymen' painters created their works using "...discarded construction materials -- Upson board, Masonite, trim and molding..."

60 Geoffrey K. Fleming, interview with June Hallock Koch and George W. Hallock IV.

61 Ibid. The Hallock children noted in their interview that at the farm their father had a huge room which served as his studio, where he had an enormous easel on which he worked. When they moved to Pennsylvania, the easel came with them, but it was too large to fit in the new house. In Merion, Hallock had his studio on the third floor of the family home, which restricted the space he had available to work. Paintings where stored in the basement of the house.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

"A Great Success in Farming." Newtown Register, 29 January 1891.

Ancestry.com. "U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946." Reference on-line. Available on-line from: http://www.ancestry.com.

Askart.com. "John Fabian Carlson." Biography on-line. Available on-line from: http://www.askart.com.

Dennehy, Gerald. The Halyoake Farm in Orient 1870-1954. Orient, NY: Oysterponds Historical Society, 2008.

"Does Farming Pay." Sag Harbor Express, 13 February 1890.

"Famous Farmer Dead." The Long Islander, 8 December 1933.

"Farmer Hallock Got Rich ­ and Solved the Freight Problem by Buying a Steamboat." Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 15 March 1896.

"Fire Fight in Best Clothes." Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 18 April 1911.

Fleming, Geoffrey K. Interview with Donald Boerum. 2 April 2012, notes in author's files, Southold, Suffolk County, New York.

Fleming, Geoffrey K. Interview with Ted Rackett. 10 April 2012, notes in author's files, Southold, Suffolk County, New York.

Fleming, Geoffrey K. Email correspondence with June Hallock Koch. 11 February 2012, notes in author's files, Southold, Suffolk County, New York.

Fleming, Geoffrey K. Email correspondence with Oberlin College Alumni Office and Archives. Spring 2012, notes in author's files, Southold, Suffolk County, New York.

Fleming, Geoffrey K., and Folk, Amy K. Interview with June Hallock Koch and George W. Hallock IV. 3 May 2012, notes in author's files, Southold, Suffolk County, New York.

Fleming, Geoffrey K., and Evans, Sara. A Shared Aesthetic: Artists of Long Island's North Fork. Southold, NY: Southold Historical Society, 2008.

"George Hallock Dies at 67." Unknown Pennsylvania newspaper clipping, February 1984.

"Girl Farm Cadets Like Their Jobs." County Review, 12 August 1943.

Hallock, George W. "Letters to Lillian Hallock," 1953, copies held by the Southold Historical Society, Southold, Suffolk County, New York.

Hallock, Lucius H. A Hallock Genealogy. Orient, NY: Lucius H. Hallock, 1928.

Hallock, Lucius H. "The Story of Peter Neck Channel." Orient, NY: Lucius H. Hallock, 1931. Unpublished manuscript, copy in the author's files, Southold, Suffolk County, New York.

"John Jagger." Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1 April 1939.

"Long Island Banner Farm" The Long Islander, (unknown day & month) 1911.

"Long Island Improvements and Industries." Newtown Register, 7 February 1895.

"Long Island Improvements and Industries." Newtown Register, 31 March 1898.

"Make Own Rain Showers on Orient's Wonder Farm; Long Island Showplace." Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 29 December 1919.

Marriage certificate of George W. Hallock and Lillian Vail, 1938. Original in the possession of June Hallock Koch, Sellersville, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Copy in the author's files, Southold, Suffolk County, New York.

"92Y Historical Timeline." Reference on-line. Available on-line from: http://www.92y.org/ 92StreetY/media/MEDIA/ Interactive/Timeline_New/ 92YTimeline_Main.html.

Old Town Arts & Crafts Guild. "Records of the Old Town Arts & Crafts Guild, c. 1952- 1997." Originals held by the Southold Historical Society, Southold Suffolk County, New York.

"Orient." Long Island Traveler, 8 February 1884.

"The Orient Farm of George Hallock & Son."Sag Harbor Express, 12 February 1920.

"Voter's Directory." New York Evening Post, 2 November 1891.

About the author

Geoffrey K. Fleming is the Director of the Southold Historical Society and serves on several regional boards, including the Long Island Museum Association. He specializes in the art and history of Long Island and is the author of many books, catalogs, and articles concerning the subject, including the award winning publications, A Shared Aesthetic: Artists of Long Island's North Fork; Ever Eastward: Alfred H. Cosden and his Estate at Southold; and Charles Henry Miller, N.A.: Painter of Long Island.

Resource Library editor's note:

The above text contains a revised version of the essay included in the exhibition catalogue Determined to Paint: The Art of George W. Hallock, updated with additional insights by the author for publication in Resource Library. The catalogue was published in connection with an exhibition of the same name held at Southold Historical Society from October 20 through December 15, 2012. If you wish to purchase a copy of the catalogue, write toSouthold Historical Society atP.O. Box 1, Southold, NY 11971 or phone 631-765-5500.

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For further information about this institutional source, including more articles and essays, please visit the sub-index page for the Southold Historical Society in Resource Library.

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