Embracing A New Form: Paul Whitener's Later Works

Hickory Museum of Art founder and first director Paul Whitener was an accomplished portrait artist and landscape painter. A surgery to partially remove a brain tumor left his right side paralyzed. In order to continue painting, Paul had to train himself to use his left hand. In these later works, Whitener developed a looser, more abstract style. He transitioned into his new style with the use of cato ink and casein paint. This exhibition includes these mediums as well as some finished and unfinished oil paintings.

Paul Whitener’s niece Julie Cline observes, “In these more abstract paintings, there are sometimes hints of inclinations that were shown in previous sketches or underpaintings. As his imagination changed his perception, he began to embrace his new form. He told my mother, Frances Whitener Cline (later Dunham), during this period near the end of his life, ‘I believe that I am just now learning how to paint.’”

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website