The Warren County Arts Council has partnered with Preservation Warrenton, the Warren County Board of Education, and the Town of Warrenton to begin the restoration and relocation of the John Graham art collection gifted by Kate Pendleton Arrington in the early 20th century.
Kate Arrington, known as North Carolina’s Lady of the Arts, was born and raised in Warren County (Warrenton, NC). Her home is still standing as a private residence at the corner of Main Street and Ridgeway Street in Warrenton (directly across from the former John Graham School). She advocated for and helped found the North Carolina Museum of Art (the first publicly funded art museum in the country) while she was the President of the NC State Art Society. Because she believed in the importance of art in schools, Kate Arrington gifted five paintings to John Graham School of Warrenton in the 1920s. Four of the five paintings have been sitting in the basement of the Warren County Schools Central Office for decades.
The Warren County Arts Council in partnership with Preservation Warrenton approached the Warren County Board of Education in 2020 to ask if an initiative could begin to restore the paintings and get them out of the basement and back in the eye of the public. The Board of Education agreed to partner and the paintings were transferred to the Warrenton Town Hall for display on a permanent loan basis. The first piece restored was a landscape painting by German painter Paul Weber. The restoration of the frame and cleaning of the painting was done by Mumford Restoration and was funded by Preservation Warrenton. The Weber piece hangs in the lobby of the Town Hall of Warrenton. The second of those paintings, Waiting, by Theodore Gerard, was restored and returned to the collection in February, 2022. The restoration of the painting was also completed by Mumford Restoration and funded by Preservation Warrenton. The entire collection of the paintings hang on the 2nd floor of Town Hall.
The Warren County Arts Council hopes to restore the remaining paintings. Please follow along as our organization works to raise funds to preserve the legacy of Kate Arrington. See below to follow the progress.
Please make checks payable to the Warren County Arts Council (Memo: John Graham Art Restoration Project)
Mailing address
Warren County Arts Council
PO Box 267
Warrenton, NC 27589
Paul Weber Landscape Restoration (64”x44”)
The $4,000 restoration of this landscape painting and frame was funded by Preservation Warrenton. The Weber Landscape was the first piece in the John Graham Art Collection restoration project.
“Waiting” by Theodore Gerard (36”x51”)
This $3,300 cleaning and repair of the painting and frame was funded by Preservation Warrenton. “Waiting” was the second piece restored in the John Graham Art Collection restoration project.
“Waiting” is now hung at Warrenton’s Town Hall (2nd floor). The cleaning of the painting and repair of both the painting and frame was funded by Preservation Warrenton.
Next Piece for Restoration: “Enchantment”
Fundraising Goal: $3,300
