Art Exhibit: Heaven is Worth It All: Howard Finster Works from the William Benefield Collection
Date and Time
Tuesday Jun 20, 2023 Sunday Aug 6, 2023
June 19 - August 6
(Closed Mondays)
Location
Paradise Garden Foundation
200 North Lewis Street
Summerville, GA 30747
Fees/Admission
Free
Contact Information
Olivia Knauss
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Art Exhibit: Heaven is Worth It All: ...
Description
Now through the beginning of August, Paradise Garden Foundation presents, “Heaven is Worth It All: Howard Finster Works from the William Benefield Collection.”
For this exhibit, local businessman and art collector, William Benefield has generously loaned several of his early numbered Howard Finster paintings, painted wooden cutouts, and 3d works to display in the Paradise Garden Visitor Center and Museum. Also included in the exhibit is a selection of Mr. Benefield’s 75 Howard Finster “thought cards”.
Thought, or “prayer” cards, were Rev. Finster’s way of collecting his devotions, advice, visions, dreams, musings, and subjects for future paintings for himself. Finster’s prayer cards range in subject matter – funny interactions with his wife, Pauline, scribbled on the back of a to-do list; a note never sent to a neighbor; items needed for the maintenance of Paradise Garden; biblical verses scrawled for future use; cosmic figures from his visions; and detailed recollections of visions.
Rev. Finster’s practice of writing thought cards was so commonplace in his day-to-day that he regularly carried blank cards in his shirt pocket, as seen in a photograph in a June 1980 Life Magazine issue featuring Paradise Garden. If an important thought crossed his mind, Finster always had a prayer card nearby to collect his words. After filling out the cards, he stashed the completed card in a jar in his studio. This exhibit is a fantastic look into the thoughts of the Man of Vision himself.
The exhibit is located in Paradise Garden’s Visitor Center & Museum and is free to view. Admission to the Garden is $15 for adults, $10 for seniors (59+), $5 for students, and free for Paradise Garden members and Chattooga County residents.
