I’d heard about William Whiteside long before I’d met him at The Crossroads Chronicle in 1991.
Well – not exactly. I’d heard about the “crazy guy” who’d salvaged Cashiers Baptist Church, built in 1865, and had its seven constituent chunks slowly trucked through the Crossroads to be delivered to a site on 64 West, where a team of local men worked with intention to join the pieces together and give us Whiteside Art Gallery (which received the Cashiers Historical Society’s Village Heritage Award in 2021).
Susan and Peter Williams
But the man who walked through the doors of the Chronicle those decades ago wasn’t “crazy.” Bill Whiteside was a natural raconteur, an instant opinion machine, a natural ally of kids and amateurs and pros who’d evinced talent in the arts and perhaps needed a bit of guidance and encouragement, and an observer of the small triumphs and quiet tragedies that animate southern Jackson County and the rest of the Plateau.
He was my immediate friend, and the chance manner in which he nurtured my son Alex’s lifelong love affair with the arts (accomplished with an unconscious grace and kindness) merely reinforced my natural affection for that funny, (or let’s call him “quirky”) force of nature.
Consider his influence on the world of Plateau art – in addition to his own watercolors and acrylics, he displayed the creations of local artists, some of whom have been featured within this magazine.
And I should mention that there in the gallery, taking it all in, was his daughter Susan who absorbed his lessons and careful observations and along with an education in art at American Intercontinental University, created her own style.
Susan Williams and William Whiteside
Bill left us in 2017, and Whiteside Art Gallery was shuttered, looking forlorn to those of us who’d always remember this endlessly fascinating character.
But in 2021 Susan and her husband, Peter Williams, re-opened the gallery utilizing her background in the arts to curate the gallery and his finance expertise from Coca Cola to run the business. Together, giving it a modern presentation while maintaining its historic essence.
She’s branched out to assemble a new stable of nationally and internationally recognized artists, giving the entire gallery a more contemporary, impressionistic style.
Collectors will discover the works of Dirk Walker, George Charriez, Jen Starwalt, Annell Metzger, and, of course, the great William A. Whiteside.
Painting by
William Whiteside
You can visit whitesideartgallery.com to view times and special events. But really, you owe it to yourself to visit the gallery itself and meet and chat with Susan (she has her father’s natural garrulousness and his instinct for storytelling). Arrive with an open heart, and I promise you, you’ll sense Bill somewhere amidst the paintings.
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