Artful Worthington

With fall’s vivid colors painting the landscape, there’s no better time to celebrate the visual arts. Our November exhibit features paintings and sculptures made by and about Worthington's residents.

Worthington’s prominent early citizens are memorialized in oil portraits, including Worthington founder James Kilbourne as well as Thomas Worthington, after whom the city is named. Other citizens to have their portraits rendered in paint include Orange and Achsa Johnson, Abner Henry Pinney and Olive Loring, who was Worthington's first milliner (a maker and seller of hats).

Some Worthington residents have deep ties to the art world. Mary Johnson Sessions, the daughter of prominent early residents Orange and Achsa (Maynard) Johnson, married Francis Sessions in 1847. The couple was interested in promoting art and art instruction in Columbus, and their own collection formed the basis for the Columbus Museum of Art's.

The talents of Worthington-area residents extend to the world of sculpture as well. Flint native Annetta Johnson Saint-Gaudens was a gifted sculptor who worked alongside the sculptors Augustus and Louis Saint-Gaudens, the latter to whom she was married. Alfred Tibor was a renowned sculptor and survivor of the Holocaust. Born in Hungary, he came to the United States in 1957, where he worked as a successful commercial illustrator before turning to sculpture in 1973. His sculptures are displayed throughout Columbus and the United States as well as at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem-- there's also one in Old Worthington Library!

Worthington’s residents have never had a shortage of appreciation for the arts, no matter what the medium. After browsing through this exhibit, you just might be inspired to pick up a paintbrush yourself.