White River Mussels & the House of Light

Every so often, we get a glimpse of the magnificence that once existed.

       Recently, I had an opportunity to view small, yet wonderful, collection entitled Hugo and Gayne Preller’s House of Light on display at the Arkansas Historical Museum in Little Rock, Arkansas. This exhibit will be on display through October, and I encourage you to get a glimpse of it while it is still available.  

Hugo Arthur Preller (1865–1950) traversed the White & Mississippi Rivers, while traveling in a floating photography studio between 1898 through 1910. Afterward, Hugo and Gayne, his wife, settled in Augusta, Arkansas, along the White river. Their studio business and continued Hugo passed away in 1950, and Gayne passed away in 1958. The Preller’s work not only documents life & times along these rivers, but their photographs show the character of the people who live along these weathered banks. The White River, known for its’ watery highway from the Ozark Highlands to the Arkansas Delta, held a vast harvest of freshwater mussels which many Arkansans clamored and dredged to find valuables pearls for market. After harvesting these jewels of the river, the shells were gathered and sold to button factories.

 

While in his nomadic ventures along the rivers, Hugo Preller used freshwater mussel shells as his canvas to portray his sights along his journey. Among the many family portraits he was paid to take, Hugo had a talent to paint. The following pictures show what can be done with discarded shells once their jewels were taken. As I was peering through the glass at the museum, the thought dropped into my heart of how many people only seek the pearls of life, while there is still beauty to be found in the remnants of our past & future. I believe this can be seen in Preller's House of Light.

Dear Reader:

The magnificence is not always in the history’s past because it could be in your very future. I hope you take the time to look beyond what you may perceive as a solitary pearl. There is a wonderful canvas surrounding you, and it’s awaiting for your hand, patience, and attention.

Enjoy your Ozarks’ History

Vincent

 

U.S. Snagboats Quartered at Devalls Bluff

Hugo Arthur Preller

Oil Paint on Mussel Shell

1920

Approx. 5” x 7”

Inscribed: U.S. Snagboats Quapaw, Arkansas, and C. B. Reese Quartered at DeValls Bluff, Ark.

March 1920. Painted from Life./H. A. Preller

Loan courtesy of Melanie Alumbaugh and Sumer Clark

DeValls Bluff Button Factory.

Hugo Arthur Preller

Oil Paint on Mussel Shell

March 1920

Approx. 5” x 7”

Inscribed: Button Factory, DeValls Bluff, Ark. / March 1920. H. A. Peller

Loan courtesy of Lower White River Museum State Park

View on the White River.

Hugo Arthur Preller

Oil Paint on Mussel Shell

1916

Approx. 5” x 7”

Inscribed: View on the White River. / past Aberdeen, Ark.

Washboard Shell. H. A. Peller, 16”.

Loan courtesy of Gayne Preller Schmidt

Court House and Ferry Landing, Dec Arc.

Hugo Arthur Preller

Oil Paint on Mussel Shell

Fall 1921

Approx. 5” x 7”

Inscribed: Court House and Ferry Landing, Dec Arc, Ark. Painted from Life. Fall 1921.

Loan courtesy of Gayne Preller Schmidt

The Burning & Exploding of a Crude Oil Irrigation Plant.

Hugo Arthur Preller

Oil Paint on Mussel Shell

1917

Approx. 5” x 7”

Inscribed: The Burning & Exploding of a Crude Oil Irrigation Plant, Crockett’s Bluff, Ark., White River.

August 1917. Painted from Life./H. A. Preller

Loan courtesy of Gayne Preller Schmidt

View in Forest Park, St. Louis, Mo.

Hugo Arthur Preller

Oil Paint on Mussel Shell

December 1918

Approx. 5” x 7”

Inscribed: View in Forest Park, St. Louis, Mo.

December 1918. Looking East from Art Hill./H. A. Preller

Loan courtesy of Gayne Preller Schmidt

Portrait of Gayne Preller.

Hugo Arthur Preller

Oil Paint on Mussel Shell

1918

Approx. 5” x 7”

Inscribed: H. A. Peller “18”

Loan courtesy of Gayne Preller Schmidt