DRIFTWOOD:

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.

Courtesy of the Behringer-Crawford Museum Collection

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. 

Courtesy of the Caddell Collection, Photograph by David Aaron Marshall, © Florence F. Caddell

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

Courtesy of the Louise Slaven Collection, © Florence F. Caddell

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.