J.F. KERNAN: This page will be dedicated to my favorite artist, Joseph Francis Kernan. He painted several of Grain Belt's prints, mostly of English Setter's and other wildlife. See list of known (to me) Grain Belt production prints by Kernan at the bottom of this page. My uncle George Faust and Mr. Kernan were good friends and fishing/[hunting?] buddies in the late 40's/early 50's when George was GM at GB. (At that time too my Dad had a Grain Belt distributorship in Des Moines, IA, which had been a partnership earlier with his brother George.) I assume they met during George's tenure at Grain Belt, when JFK was commissioned to paint several oils for the brewery. One was produced in to an advertising print/litho? (which I also have) entitled Proud Moment in 1950. The painting was apparently given to my uncle after its production to a print, so I would be the second owner since its release. It was given to me by his wife after his death. It is properly stretched and framed, likely its original stretching, according to a master framer who inspected it. She also figures it is the original peg style stretching, and framing. Of all my GB items on the walls, this is my most prized possession, and it has nothing to do with monetary value. The 24" X 30" oil is on linen canvas, unvarnished. It is in near mint condition, and the colors are bright and vibrant, the top sky and clouds portion being so bright it appears to have a light on it. The only flaws are 3 or 4 small pinholes which are likely fly specks from behind, not noticeable unless held up with a light behind it, and one quarter inch tear/hole in the bottom left corner, over the stretcher board, noticeable only upon closeup inspection . It appears to have been professionally stretched and framed (by "Custom Frame Up, Deephaven", sticker on back of frame). I have never cleaned it other than occasional feather-dusting, front and back. It has been in a climate-controled house winter and summer, and shows no signs of paint cracking, or fading, and it's kept in an unlit hallway, away from even indirect sunlight, lit from above only for showing. It is signed J. F. Kernan on the bottom left. On the advertising print the GB logo appears on the top right corner. See photo below. Here is a short bio on Mr. Kernan: Biographical information for Joseph Francis Kernan. This biography from the archives of AskART.com. Joseph Francis Kernan, a magazine illustrator for forty years during the golden age of that art and saddled with the nickname "the poor man's Norman Rockwell" -- was born in 1878 in Brookline, Massachusetts. He paid for his studies in Boston at the Eric Pape School of Art, where he later taught for two years, by playing professional baseball. True to his own sporting interests, Kernan favored outdoor scenes of sports, fishing, hunting and dogs. One of his paintings of an English Setter is in the art collection of the DeCoverly Kennels, outside Scranton, Pennsylvania, which specializes in that breed of dog. Kernan's paintings appeared on the covers of magazines including Collier's, Liberty, The Saturday Evening Post, The Country Gentleman, Capper's Farmer, The Elks, Outdoor Life, and the Associated Sunday Magazines. His work was also commissioned for calendars and advertisers such as International Harvester, Fisk Tires and Pratt & Lambert Varnishes, for which he painted an ad in 1926 of two boys by a Christmas tree on a highly polished floor. Kernan's painting of a fly fisherman wading in a stream was included in The Sporting View: American Sporting Art from the Collection of Robert B. Mayo, an exhibition at the Morris Museum of Art, Augusta, Georgia. Joseph Francis Kernan died in 1958. Sources: http://www.decoverlykennels.com/artcollection.html http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/2aa/2aa238.htm Thank you, Joseph for the memories you have left us through the miracle of your paint brush!

PROUD MOMENT:

This is the original oil painting of the 1950 Grain Belt print.

KERNAN, ANIMALS:

This one is in only fair condition, and I would like to upgrade it.

KERNAN'S, DOGS, 1950, *1948:

2 of his famous dog illustrations. I am lucky enough to own the original oil painting of the one on the left, courtesy of my late uncle George Faust. He worked for the brewery in the late 40's, early 50's. Although the one on the right is not titled, I believe it to be "Going Out", which I found on an art website depicting this painting.

*THE EYES HAVE IT!:

Here is what Kernan is famous for. Look at how he can portray emotion even in an animal's eyes. Here, on the 1948, you can just feel the disappointment mother pup has, as the master tells her she cannot go along on the hunt this tme, because she has to stay at home with the pups. Dad has tail up and is tugging at the leash, rarin' to go!

WHEN YOU NEED A FRIENDLY:

No. 51-3, 1953.

Kernan, those 2 fishermen #1:

This is the one I desperately need an upgrade on. Somebody had this neat old frame, then cut the print down to fit in to it! Missing is the bottom and right, including the Kernan signature. Tis is is one of 3 that I know of that is being Reprinted. Can somebody tell me if it has the date? It is entitled "Have A Friendly, Pal?"

Kernan, those 2 fisherman #2:

This one is the vertical version of "End Of A Tough Day", 1950, and has the same 2 fisherman as far as I can tell. The same photo was made in to a much larger print about double the size with more sunset on the right side, and the logo was on the right half.

I have seen this one reproduced, slightly smaller, and sold on eBay.

Kernan's done for Grain Belt: There may be more than these 11, but these I know of because I own a copy of them. If you know of more please send in a photo! -1944, #44-2: Major Duck Flyways. Mallards in center. -1945, 45-1: -1947, #47-4: Spaniel, mallard in mouth, game around edges. -1948, #48-1: Man fishing, ducks, fly rod, waterfall. -1948, #48-5: -1950, #50-1: "End Of A Tough Day", vertical. -1950, same as above but larger, horizontal: -1950?: "Have A Friendly, Pal?". This has the same 2 guys as on #50-1. -1950, #50-2: "Proud Moment". This is the one I have the original oil painting of, above. -1951, #51-3: -Turtle: Horizontal. TBC...

REPRINTS: 3/26/05: Or are they fakes? This is a touchy issue, and I decided to write on it due to recent activity on online auctions. I have long been opposed to ANY reproduction other than that done by The Brewery. I would call this a RE-ISSUE, as it is a regular issue item...just been done before, like a second or third printing of a book. But what if there IS no brewery some day? Let me attempt a glossary: -FAKE: A copy, intended to deceive by passing it off as an original. -REISSUE: An item such as the often-reissued Girl In The Barley Field print, or the Stanley & Albert sign, done by the Brewery, officially. -REPRINT: A copy, done by modern technical means. A reprint obviously would be a printed item. -REPRODUCTION: Like a reprint, but not a printed item, such as the reissued Stanley & Albert sign done in the 1970's. -SIGN: I have seen something as ordinary as a bottle label, enlarged and called a "Sign"! As of this writing there are 3 Kernan's being Reprinited, to my knowledge. I own one, and 2 are hanging here in town in a bar. All are about the same size. The 2 in the bar are not done by the same person are the one I have. I am somewhat torn on the issue. On the one hand, I have simply copied some of my smaller items on a color photocopier and put them in my camper or fish house to enjoy, for my own use. Obviously I would not trust putting a $500 original in my cabin. This puts a great old piece out for public enjoyment, especially mine. If you cannot find, or afford the original, is a copy the next best thing? Now some are being done in quantity and being sold. This puts a whole different slant on it. To further confuse things, as you know some of the Reissues even are showing up at auction being touted as the origianal. Now I see a Reprint that is thought to be an original by the seller, but I think it is not (*see below). This is the kind of debacle that can occur with ANY type of copying. Then there is the issue of copying reducing the value of a collectors hard-earned original! Also, what about the Copyright? Some say that it expires in 50 years. The printers I have talked to say that they will not copy anything with a logo or signature without the written permission of the brewery, the artist's estate, or both. Does anyone know the legalities here? None seem to want to touch anyhing containing the "Union Bug", or they could be shut down, although at least one Reprint does have this seal. One thing is for sure, the issue will continue to heat up with the advent of modern, inexpensive copying techniques! I can make a pretty good copy at home on my $75 copier! Good thing I don't own anything bigger than a $5 bill. * RE: End Of A Tough Day, #50-1: "I took my original out of its frame and laid it side by side to my reprint, and discovered something about the reprint that I did not know. It has been both cropped, AND reduced electronically! The original is 22X28 (actually 1/8" under on both), and the reprint is 19X24". Notice that mathamatically the reduction does not correlate. One can clearly see the cropping as there are some tree leaves missing on the left, part of the landing net missing on the right, and 1 3/4" of sky missing. The bottom was pretty well preserved, likely to retain all of the verbiage. Also, I noticed that on the bottom right is a Union Bug saying "Amalgamated Lithographers of America, [Chicago?]", on both. Now as to reducing, and the reason I still think this is a Reprint, is that the GB diamond from tip to tip L to R is 7 1/2" on the original, and only 6 7/8" on the reprint, thus indicating reduction in total size. Both have the "dots" or squares indicating the 4 color offset printing process, but I'm no expert on this for sure...just what I've been told by a printer." This battle will likely rage on.

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