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Quotes from writings:
To arise in the frosty morning at the point of daybrak,
climb the hill and cut wood, while the sky lightens above the trees; to
eat this wholesome, sweet food(;) to use my body, hands and mind at the
endless work I have to do; to read by the firelight, to sleep warm and
snug; all this shared and enjoyed by my loving partner – what manner
of a man originated this idea of a happier life beyond death?
– H.H., April 1955
On his marriage to Anna:
“I do not know just how it came about… it has all happened naturally,
as something growing into ripeness, or a flowing together of water.”
(Harlan Hubbard Journals, 1929-1944)
On his purpose for the Shantyboat voyage to New Orleans:
“I had no theories to prove. I merely wanted to try living by my
own hands, independent as far as possible from a system of division of
labor in which the participant loses most of the pleasure of making and
growing things for himself. I wanted to bring in my own fuel and smell
its sweet smell as it burned on the hearth I had made. I wanted to grow
my own food, catch it in the river, or forage after it. In short, I wanted
to do as much as I could for myself, because I had already realized from
partial experience the inexpressible joy of so doing.”
(Shantyboat, published 1953)
On his artistic style:
“There must be a perfect balance between the abstract and reality
in a picture. Every shape, line and color must be part of the design and
still be an effective part of the picture, true to life.”
(Journal entry, 1939)
On his artistic development:
“I was too independent to go on to art school and do what they were
talking about. And I didn’t want to follow the modern art that was
coming up. I always had a feeling I wanted to paint landscapes, but I
wanted to paint exactly as I saw it. When I would make a picture of a
boat, I wanted accurate construction and proportion to make it realistic.
I’d take no liberties with it. But I soon found you could paint realistically
and still create this abstract design. When you look at my work, the design
is there. But when you look at it, you’d say it’s realistic;
that there is no design because the realism is not influenced or sacrificed
by the other. But it’s there.”
KET video “Life on the Fringe of Society,”
1981
On his subsistent lifestyle in Payne Hollow:
“Things that other men did were not for me. And I know that they
would never understand what I was trying to do. It’s a different
set of values, entirely.”
KET video “Harlan Hubbard,” 1988
Hubbard Books and Videos:
"Shantyboat," written and illustrated by
Harlan Hubbard. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1953.
"Payne Hollow: Life on the Fringe of Society," by
Harlan Hubbard. New York: Crowell, 1974.
"Shantyboat: A River Way of Life," by Harlan Hubbard.
Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 1977.
"Harlan Hubbard Journals, 1929-1944," by
Harlan Hubbard, ed. by Vincent Kohler & David F. Ward, Lexington,
KY: University Press of Kentucky, 1987.
"Oyo: An Ohio River Anthology," by Don Wallis. Yellow
Springs, OH: Oyo Press, 1989.
"Harlan Hubbard: Life and Works," by Wendell Berry. Lexington,
KY: University Press of Kentucky, 1990.
"Shantyboat on the Bayous," by Harlan Hubbard. Lexington,
KY: University Press of Kentucky, 1990.
"Time, Like an Ever-Rolling Stream," by Judith Moffett.
A novel with characters and situations based on Anna and Harlan Hubbard.
New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992.
"Shantyboat Journal," written and illustrated
by Harlan Hubbard, ed. by Don Wallis. Lexington, KY: University Press
of Kentucky, 1994.
"A Visit With Harlan Hubbard" by Wade Hall. Occasional
Papers Series. Lexington, Ky: University Press of Kentucky, 1996
"The Woodcuts of Harlan Hubbard: From the Collection
of Bill Caddell," by Bill Caddell, with foreward by Wendell Berry.
Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 1994.
"Life on the Fringe," a video by John Morgan, 1981. Interviews
with Anna and Harlan Hubbard.
"The Harlan Hubbard Story," a video by WAVE-TV News,
Channel 3, Louisville, Ky. A documentary on the Hubbards and their way
of life in Payne Hollow, Ky.
"Kentucky Life: Harlan Hubbard," a 1998 video by KET.
Updating the Legacy – interviews with people influenced by the Hubbards.
“Anna Hubbard: Out of the Shadows,” by Mia Cunningham.
University Press of Kentucky (Pub. May 2001). 224 pages. Anna Eikenhout
(1902-1986) was an honors graduate of Ohio State University, a fine-arts
librarian, a skilled pianist, and an avid reader in three languages. Harlan
Hubbard (1900-1988), a little-known painter and would-be shantyboater,
seemed an unlikely husband, but together they lived a life out of the
pages of Thoreau’s “Walden.” Much of what is known about
the Hubbards comes from Harlan’s books and journals. Concerning the
seasons and the landscape, his writing was rapturous, yet he was emotionally
reticent when discussing human affairs in general or Anna in particular.
Yet it was through her efforts that their life on the river was truly
civilized. Visitors to Payne Hollow recall Anna as a generous, gracious
hostess, whose intelligence and artistry made the small house seem grander
than a mansion. Mia Cunningham grew up in a house built by Harlan, visited
the couple each summer as a child, and enjoyed a 28-year correspondence
with Anna. She lives with her husband in Fairfax County, Va.
Other
Resources:
Many Harlan Hubbard books and videos may be purchased from
Bill Caddell at the Frankfort Community Public Library, Frankfort, IN.
Contact Caddell at (765) 654-8746. Proceeds benefit the Anna and Harlan
Hubbard School of Living. Visit Caddell's Internet website at: www.dci.com/~hubbard/.
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Harlan Hubbard's original journal manuscripts and correspondence,
dating from 1903 to 1987, are available to researchers at the University
of Louisville Archives and Records Center, Louisville, KY. (502) 852-6674.
Hubbard material is also available at Hanover College's Duggan Library,
Hanover, IN. (812) 866-7164.
Sixteen Hubbard paintings can be viewed at Hanover College's Brown Campus
Center. The collection and related activities receive financial support
through The Hubbard Endowment Fund. Contact Kris Kindelsperger at (812)
866-7011.
Hanover College philosophy professor Robert Rosenthal heads the Friends
of the Hubbards organization and newsletter.
Contact him at (812) 866-7215.
A gift of 21 paintings and other works are sometimes on display at the
Behringer-Crawford Museum, Devou Park, 1600 Montague, Covington, KY. Contact
director Laura Risch
at (606) 491-4033.
Meg Shaw, art librarian at the University of Kentucky M.I. King Library,
has collected hundreds of Hubbard images on color slides. Contact her
at (606) 257-4908.
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Flo Fowler Burdine, a Hanover College graduate, catalogued
nearly 500 Hubbard images on color slides for the collection at the Anna
and Harlan Hubbard School of Living in Frankfort, IN. Contact her or William
Caddell at (765) 654-8746.
Harlan
Hubbard Bibliographies:
Books
Book Reviews
Periodical
Articles and Other Works
The above books are available for sale at various locations,
including www.KentuckyPress.com,
www.Amazon.com
and at Bill Caddell’s website, www.dci.com/~hubbard/.
Copyright 2005 - 2012, Kentuckiana Publishing, Inc.
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