The Life of Harlan Hubbard

Writer, artist, and sustainability pioneer Harlan Hubbard (1900-1988) lived an unassuming life, only to find himself embedded in the historical memory of Kentucky. While some may know of Hubbard’s shantyboat sojourn on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers with his wife and partner, Anna, or of the Hubbards’ shared quest for the simple life at their hand-built home of Payne Hollow in Trimble County, Kentucky, few will know the full, fitful, fascinating story.

After four long decades of transformation, Harlan Hubbard emerged into middle age as the rightful heir to the Transcendentalist ethos, ready to, like his revered predecessor Henry David Thoreau envision a unique American life of simplicity, sustainability, and wild beauty.
This exhibition, based on the recent, comprehensive biography of Hubbard by Jessica K. Whitehead, reveals who Hubbard—though beloved by his fellow Kentuckians, can serve as an inspiration to all people interested in painting, literature, philosophy, adventure, and environmentalism. Driftwood: The Life of Harlan Hubbard delves into Hubbard’s family history and relationships, his education and creative development, his friends and supporters, and his theories on art, writing, music, and life itself.

Through an eclectic exhibition of paintings, photographs, ephemera, and other artifacts—gathered together from more than a dozen public and private collections in the region—visitors can step into a vivid portrait of Harlan and the traces he left behind: books, journals, paintings, sketches, handcrafted and unique structures, and a template for a sustainable life in our modern ecological landscape.
Curator:
Jessica K. Whitehead

Special Thanks To Our Community Collaborators:
Payne Hollow on the Ohio
The Filson Historical Society
Behringer-Crawford Museum
Hanover College
University of Louisville Archives & Special Collections
Owensboro Museum of Fine Arts
Kenton County Public Library
Campbell County Public Library
The Carnegie
New York State Archives
University Press of Kentucky
The Caddell Family
Bob & Charlotte Canida
David & Debra Hausrath
Vince Kohler
David Ward
Louise Slaven
Carol Swearingen
Ted Steinbock
Pamela Houston
Pamela & Paul Thompson
John Fettig
David Sloane

Learn more about Driftwood: The Life of Harlan Hubbard associated projects at driftwoodharlanhubbard.com, or follow @driftwoodharlanhubbard on Instagram and Facebook.