SIDNEY — Robert Kroeger, of Cincinnati, created 17 Shelby County barn paintings to raise awareness for historic barn preservation in November 2021. He then donated them to the County Wide Historical Alliance as a fundraising opportunity. A 2023 calendar and note cards were created with the images of the paintings.
The Alliance has announced the paintings will be going up for auction online during the month of July.
Cynthian Township’s “Shelby Snow”
The old barn sits next to a picturesque farmhouse, resplendent in orange brick, bright green shutters, and dark green on the roof, about as charming as an old farmhouse can be. Both the barn and house date to circa 1870. A log cabin once sat in the nearby orchard.
Mike Knouff, current owner, wrote that the farm has been in the family from the start of the farm and that the barn originally held livestock and stored hay. Today he uses it for small equipment.
Kroeger was lucky to find a composition far away from the barn – across a field and with a fence post in the foreground. Even though he visited it on a warm day in October, the scene was good enough to include some snow.
Paintings on display
The paintings have been on display at various community festivals and will be displayed at the Shelby County Fair at the end of July. The paintings will be located in the Bicentennial Traveling Museum that will be parked next to the Community Foundation Hall. The calendars and sets of 14 note cards will be available for sale for $15 each.
Each painting will be listed by lot number with a description. Opening bids will start at $50 and each subsequent bid will go up by $5. Bids can be made at TroyKies.hibid.com. There will be a total of 19 paintings auctioned off.
The auction will end on Friday, July 29, at 6:30 p.m. The winners of the bids are to pick up their paintings on Saturday, July 30, between 1 and 3 p.m. at the Traveling Museum inside the Shelby County Fairgrounds or arrange a pickup at a future time with the Shelby County Historical Society.
For more information, contact the Shelby County Historical Society, 937-498-1653 or [email protected].
