West Virginia Wesleyan College’s Sleeth Gallery will host an exhibit in April from an artist who found inspiration in Appalachia. The exhibit, “Exploring West Virginia: Sketches, Studies and Finished Works” by the late Carl Gaertner will run through May 3 in Sleeth Gallery.
Carl Gaertner was born in Cleveland, Ohio on April 18, 1898. He attended the Cleveland School of Art, now known as the Cleveland Institute of Art, from 1920 to 1922. He then taught at the Cleveland School of Art from 1925 until his death in 1952, where he was highly respected and influential. While his early work focused on his surroundings in Cleveland, he soon began to travel and gained interest and inspiration from Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Cape Cod, and New York. Though he garnered much attention for his industrial landscapes, he has also captured the hard work of agriculture with sloping, mountainous backgrounds, demonstrating Appalachian beauty and the labor of the people living there at that time. He died unexpectedly on Nov. 4, 1952 at his home in Cleveland, Ohio.
“Exploring West Virginia: Sketches, Studies, and Finished Works” reflects on Gaertner’s work documenting Appalachian life and landscapes. As an outsider, it can be difficult to capture the essence of the Appalachian people, but Gaertner was able to do so with empathy, understanding, and grace that felt more comforting than critical.
Gaertner visited West Virginia a few times throughout his life, including an extended visit in the summer of 1933, teaching with William Grauer and the Art Colony at The Greenbrier. The first retrospective show in 25 years was exhibited at Carnegie Hall in Lewisburg, West Virginia earlier this year, and we are now happy to share it with West Virginia Wesleyan College at Sleeth Gallery. Carl Gaertner’s granddaughter, Erin Gaertner ’08, has worked to preserve and exhibit Gaertner’s art to share with those who are familiar fans and those who are receiving their first introduction. She has curated this collection to demonstrate his connection to Appalachia with pieces that focus on West Virginia and surrounding areas.
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Katy Whitlow ’08 has assisted in research and archival work.
BRIDGEPORT, W.Va (WDTV) – West Virginia lawmakers continued working as the Saturday midnight deadline approaches.
Senate Action
The Senate passed 12 bills, including one requiring adult content websites to use age verification to block minors. Senators also passed a bill creating a Cold Case Task Force.
House Bill 49-90, targeting gift card crimes, and House Bill 54-37, the Vape Safety Act, also passed unanimously. All four bills now go to the House for concurrence.
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Delegates passed Alyssa’s Law, allowing teachers to wear mobile alert buttons that notify 9-1-1 and trigger a school lockdown in emergencies. The bill is named after a victim of the 2018 Parkland shooting.
Bill 4005, which clarifies jobs prohibited for workers under 16 — including bar work and logging — also passed. Both bills now head to Governor Patrick Morrisey’s desk.
Senate Bill 4 would require bystanders to stay at least 30 feet from first responders.
Senate Bill 75 would allow West Virginia law enforcement to cooperate with officers in bordering states. A bill from the Education Committee would allow teachers with at least 15 years of experience to become certified as school principals.
For more legislative coverage, go to our website at wdtv.com.
The West Virginia Mountaineers (10-3) welcome the Maryland Terrapins (10-5) to Kendrick Family Ballpark Tuesday afternoon the first encounter between the two programs since 2023 and the first meeting in Morgantown since 2018. The first pitch is set for 2:00 p.m. EST and the action will stream on ESPN+.
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The Mountaineers captured their fourth consecutive series of the season after taking two of the three games from Columbia over the weekend. West Virginia sophomore Matt Ineich and senior Brodie Kresser both blasted grand slams during the series. Ineich lifted WVU in game two with a walk-off grand slam in the 10th in game two, and Kresser ignited a 16-1 rout, capping a six-run second inning in the series finale.
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Gavin Kelly leads West Virginia at the plate with a .436 batting average with a Big 12 leading nine doubles. Ineich and senior Paul Schoenfeld has raked in a team-leading 16 RBI apiece, while senior Matthew Graveline has clubbed a team-high three home runs.
On the mound, West Virginia is expected to start sophomore David Hagen. The right-hander has made four appearances on the season, including one start. He last started in the home-opener against Ohio where he pitched two scoreless innings and recorded a strikeout to collect his first win of the season. He holds a 1.00 ERA with five strikeouts on the season.
After starting 3-4, Maryland is 7-1 in its last eight games. The Terrapins won two of three at UNC Wilmington in the season opening series, followed by a midweek win against Georgetown before getting swept at Louisiana. The Terps bounced back with a pair of midweek wins versus Delaware and swept a one-win Wagner team.
Junior Brayden Martin is batting a team-best .443 to go with four doubles and 12 RBI. Redshirt freshman Ryan Costello leads the Terps in home runs (9) and RBI (21) and is third in batting average at .328, while freshman Ty Kaunus has a team-high seven doubles and has .269 batting average.
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Maryland is scheduled to start freshman Nic Morlang. The right-hander has four appearances on the season, including four starts. He allowed five earned runs in his appearances, coinciding with his two starts, in six innings of work. In his last two appearances in relief, He’s allowed one earned run on five hits.
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West Virginia leads the all-time series 8-5, including a five-game winning streak over Maryland.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to a series of parties in Morgantown over the weekend.
Morgantown police officers, West Virginia University Police and state police responded to reports of overcrowded parties, underage drinking, physical altercations and multiple injuries.
Morgantown Communications Director Brad Riffie said several citations were issued for open containers and underage consumption.
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Two large parties were dispersed and six arrests were made without incident.
None of the reported injuries are believed to be serious or life-threatening.
The Morgantown Fire Department assisted in the operations.
