IT'S NOT JUST 
A BED AND BREAKFAST
... IT'S RIVER HISTORY

Gary and Sandy Lucy in front of the 
Rivercene Bed and Breakfast 
in New Franklin, Missouri

Gary recently completed the research phase of his second Victorian Christmas print to be released in October. His second in The Family Event series entitled "Bringing Home The Perfect Tree ", ca 1870" will feature the home of Riverboat Captain Joseph Kinney.
Captain Kinney built this historic home, located in New Franklin, Missouri overlooking the Missouri River, in 1867.

The Kinney Family owned this estate from 1867 until 1992. Master artist, George Caleb Bingham spent 5 weeks at the Kinney home in the winter of 1874 painting portraits of Captain and Mrs. Kinney. These portraits currently hang in the United Missouri Bank in Boonville, Missouri.

The home featured in Gary's latest Victorian Christmas painting "Bringing Home the Perfect Tree, ca. 1870" was built by Riverboat Captain Joseph Kinney in 1867. Except for the brick which was produced in Boonville, the materials used to construct this home were transported via our inland waterways. Cypress lumber was obtained from Missouri's "bootheel" area on the Mississippi and shipped upstream to New Franklin to frame the house; marble used to decorate the nine fireplaces was purchased from the same quarry that Michelangelo used in Italy ... traveled by sailing ships to New Orleans and then transported up the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers; walnut used for the beautiful doors and trim was shipped up the Mississippi, dropped off in St. Louis for finishing, later transported up the Missouri River to New Franklin. Gary said, "The Kinney Home is one of the most significant homes in Missouri relating to the use of the Missouri River."
Gary's previous painting "Mississippi River Landing, Loading Cypress Lumber at Caruthersville Landing, 1837" correlates with the building of Captain Kinney's home... using transported cypress lumber to the New Franklin area via steamboat.

The State Historical Society of Missouri held a public reception December 5 closing the Gary R. Lucy Exhibit at its Gallery of Missouri Artists in Columbia, Missouri. The January 2000 issue of the Missouri Historical Review included an account of Gary's lecture and exhibit at their annual meeting.

To promote tourism, the Washington Area Chamber of Commerce has placed ads on the back of two St. Louis Bi-State busses advertising the area's attractions. As a backdrop, they have included Gary Lucy's "The Bright Star Crossing the Missouri River at the Washington, Missouri Landing." Sandy Lucy said "We are pleased to be able to assist the community in promoting the benefits of Washington and are honored by their request to use Gary's artwork."