Penn State Altoona to present railroading art exhibition

Monday, April 30, 2012 - 898 hits

ALTOONA — The summer railroad art exhibition, "The Heritage and Future of Pennsylvania Railroading," by Joe Servello and Robert Hunt will be on display in the galleries of the Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts May 24 - June 9, 2012.

"We are pleased to have this special exhibit on railroading featuring the art of two of our Penn State Altoona alumni," C. David Kimmel associate director of alumni relations and stewardship says. "Both Hunt and Servello are known for the works they have done featuring the Pennsylvania Railroad and scenes of Altoona when railroading was king. Railroad enthusiasts should find this collective exhibit of the two artists both intriguing and interesting." The exhibit is also a part of the Penn State Alumni Association's City Lights program, “All Aboard: The Heritage and Future of Pennsylvania Railroading.” City Lights is an annual series of cultural and educational events designed to engage alumni and friends and features Penn State's faculty and alumni with six events and programs scheduled for 2012.

A 1959 graduate in Art Education from the Pennsylvania State University, Servello has been a graphic designer, art director, theatre designer, and art teacher in both Philadelphia and New York. In 1986, Servello returned to his native Altoona to continue his career. He has painted murals in New York, Florida, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Altoona, and at the Pennsylvania State University in the Chambers and Keller buildings. His art is included in many private and public collections, such as the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, the University of Minnesota, and the Pennsylvania State University, as well as the Altoona Public Library. Servello has illustrated over sixty books and has done numerous illustrations for magazines, magazine covers, and book jackets. He has worked with children over many years and continues this interest through the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. He recently retired from teaching at Penn State Altoona.

After graduating from Penn State with an engineering degree in 1963, Hunt worked in the aerospace industry and then his own businesses for twenty-six years. As a self-taught artist, during that time, he continuously enjoyed oil painting as an avocation. Hunt now enjoys national recognition as a representational historic artist working in the realism style. Aside from offering the original canvases for sale, he publishes his paintings as lithographs and canvas reproductions, both as limited editions. He has done and still accepts private commission work for individuals, governmental agencies, and institutions. Hunt’s sense of history reflects in all of his work, including “The Heritage and Future of Pennsylvania Railroading.” He says, "Specifically, my railroad paintings offer the viewer scenes of railroad companies that no longer exist and engines that are no longer used.”

The galleries are open Monday – Thursday, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. and before and during all performances. For further information, call the Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts at 814-949-5452.