Welcome to The Amazing Works of Virginia Terpening
Showcasing the incredible talent and celebrating the life of a spectacular Missouri visual artist!
The Terpening Story
Sit back and let me tell you an amazing story about an amazing artist named Virginia from Lewistown, MO. In May 2013 a construction worker from Lewiston, just north of Hannibal, happened upon an overgrown lot with a dilapidated trailer and a broken down school bus. Hoping to make some extra money, he purchased the lot with the intention of cleaning it up and scrapping the metal from the vehicles. But what was inside the bus and trailer changed his life and changed the lives of many. In those vehicles were the personal effects and artwork of Virginia Terpening who had died in 2007.
Virginia (Shoup Baltzelle) Terpening was born in Lewistown, MO in 1917. She attended William Woods College in Fulton, MO and subsequently studied at the Washington University School of Fine Arts in St. Louis. She exhibited works in California, New York, Boston, St. Louis, Arizona, Kenya, and England. In 1979, Terpening presented an oil on canvas to President Jimmy Carter titled Mississippi Riverboat. But Terpening never really strayed far from her home in Lewistown working part time painting truck logos and store advertising windows. While she sold few works while she was alive, her discovered journals indicate that her lifelong dream was to open her own gallery and studio.
In December 2013, the unemployed construction worker auctioned Terpening's life works. Most of the paintings were filthy from years of neglect. Many needed repair. But under all that dirt was an amazing collection of Midwestern Regionalism depicting ordinary life in rural America. Many are in the style of Thomas Hart Benton. But don't be fooled. Her talent transcended labels and her gift enabled her to paint outside the box of a specific style. You will see elements of impressionism, surrealism, and futurism when exploring Terpening's works. And you may see all those styles in one piece. Virginia Terpening now has her own gallery in the homes and hearts where her works reside. Enjoy!