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Honoring an Artful Legacy
Written By: Jenny King | Issue: 2016/10 - October | Photograph By: Marjorie Christiansen Photography
Hubert Shuptrine was an accomplished artist with a delicate approach to America’s people, its traditions, and
its landscape.
Whether focusing on the pattern of creases in a timeworn face, the tiniest strands of whiskers in a bristly beard, or the uneven rhythm of weathered boards on the side of an old cabin, Shuptrine penetrated the surface of his subjects to reveal their inner spirit.
He and his family lived in Highlands from 1970 to 1974, so he could work on his first book, “Jericho: The South Beheld,” which brought him national recognition and broke all records in the history of art book publishing. After moving back to Chattanooga and finding he had cancer, he wanted to maintain his connection to Highlands so he opened a gallery on Main Street where many still remember attending his lectures.
His daughter, Stephanie Shuptrine, followed in her father’s footsteps as an artist and before his death 10 years ago, began training with her dad. She was, in fact, the only student he ever had.
“I had 11-and-a-half final weeks of intense training with him where I learned his techniques and learned to paint people,” she says. “The happiest childhood memories I have are from the four years we lived here on Satulah Mountain.”
She continued to return to Highlands every year to reminisce even after the gallery closed. It was on one of those trips she discovered the very same space had become available and immediately knew it was time to reopen her dad’s gallery and honor his legacy.
Stephanie plans to turn the back room into her studio and her most prized possession is her father’s easel. Stop by and listen to her wax poetic about life with her father and what it was like to live in Highlands in the 1970s.
The gallery features some of her father’s originals as well as works of her own and other regional artists. With a background in graphic design and animation, Stephanie admits to a fondness for whimsical pieces and enjoys creating unusual tableaux, bringing humor and cohesiveness to the gallery.
The Shuptrine Gallery is located (again) at 369 Main Street in downtown Highlands and may be contacted at (828) 482-2676 or online at shuptrinegallery.com.
