Sewickley Tavern showcases local history with works by 3 artists

Visitors to the Sewickley Tavern will find more than a hearty meal and a bracing beverage. From the minute they walk in the door of the recently opened upscale eatery, they’ll be surrounded by the work of three local artists.

“When architect Nathan St.Germain first met with owner Courtney Yates about her vision for a local tavern, they agreed on one thing: that the art they would choose for the new restaurant would be just as important as the building design and the menu,” according to a release.

Yates and St.Germain, founder and principal of Studio St.Germain, decided to create a modern take on a traditional tavern, including artwork commissioned from local artists that featured contemporary reflections on the history of Sewickley.

The pair reached out to Mark Rengers, owner of Sewickley Gallery & Frame Shop, who recommended three diverse artists whose work he felt would complement the project.

“So much has happened in Sewickley – much more than most of us know. We realized we could make that invisible history visible by bringing it into a contemporary setting and inspiring conversation with different artistic voices,” St.Germain said. “The artists made the most of their access to original historic resources and full artistic freedom to choose their subjects and express what inspired them through form and color.”

Artists featured in the establishment at 409 Beaver St. are:

• Christine Swann, an internationally recognized portrait artist and pastel expert, created an oil-paper-on-board triptych of portraits that greet diners as they enter the front door. Each subject is surrounded by a glowing, backlit aura to reflect the warmth of the restaurant’s interior. Inspired by the exuberant joy of the “Roaring ’20s” flappers, Swann set out to capture the energy and excitement of the era while depicting her models in a more modern and empowered perspective on a timeless theme — women dressed for a night out and anticipating the company of friends.

• Ramon Riley, a Braddock native and Heinz Endowment awardee, chose dance as his metaphor for the coming together of people and communities. His four poured-paint-on-paper works incorporate watercolor, oil, graphite and collage to depict different dances and historical moments, including a view of Walnut Beach where musicians once serenaded passing steamboats as passengers waltzed; the Sewickley Bridge linking Sewickley and Coraopolis; the Sewickley train station repurposed into an African-American social hall where artists including Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald performed; and a representation of many cultural and historic dance influences over the years that feed into the modern energy of the town’s main intersection.

• Mark Brewer, a renowned illustrator and Pittsburgh transplant, provided a series of six drawings, each a tongue-in-cheek, whimsical snapshot from Sewickley’s past, from the 1800s to the 2000s. The drawings poke good-natured fun at the rhythms of life in the small river town, offering a visual feast of recognizable landmarks and streets bustling with pedestrian activity.

“I’m delighted at the way each artist’s work contributes to the story we wanted to tell and the feeling we wanted to achieve at the Tavern,” Yates said. “The artists have done an amazing job of capturing some nuggets of Sewickley history and presenting them in a way that gives us something new that we can see, be touched by and learn from as we look to the future.”