Considering the Relationships Among Patronage, Training, and the Arts By Stephen Gjertson Footnotes are inserted into the text within brackets. The contemporary artist who wishes to follow in the footsteps of the great painters of the past must come to grips with two...
By Stephen Gjertson It was a sultry summer afternoon in central Minnesota. I was painting about three yards from Minnehaha Creek, made famous by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his poem The Song of Hiawatha. I had been working in this spot on a painting of...
A Legacy of Preserving and Promoting the Fine Craft of Picture Making By Stephen Gjertson This is adapted from an article published in the Winter 2006 issue of the Classical Realism Newsletter. For centuries, the broad objectives of Western European art have been...
Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, November 28, 1923. Died in Pine River, Minnesota, December 23, 2009. Don Koestner was known by painters as the poet laureate of Minnesota impressionism. His life and work inspired and influenced two generations of mid-western landscape...
A tribute given by Stephen Gjertson at the memorial for Don Koestner, January 30, 2010. It is my distinct privilege to say a few words today about Don’s art. As an artist who has known Don and been familiar with his work for almost forty years, I can say without...
