The Bellows Brothers Pictures — St. Johnsbury Athenaeum

Fourth-generation St. Johnsbury photographer Bob Jenks collaborates with Jim Kipfer of Maine for a joint exhibition of their pictures entitled “The Bellows Brothers.” The exhibition shall be on view throughout library hours from July via September within the second flooring Hall Gallery.

The Artists’ Reception shall be held on Saturday, July 18 from 4-6 pm, and the general public is invited to attend.

Robert C. Jenks, Master Photographer and Craftsman, is a 4th-generation photographer holding the family-run enterprise going. The enterprise was established in 1886 by Robert’s great-grandfather, William H. Jenks. Robert graduated from Culinary Arts School in 1979 abd didn’t really feel like heading into work in a sizzling kitchen, so he began working for his dad and by no means stopped. He took over the enterprise in 1986, following within the footsteps of his ancestors. Robert has a love for black & white photographs and hopes sometime sooner or later to shoot solely black and white.

Bob believes the Jenks Studio would be the oldest family-run studio within the United States. Other photographers might have been in enterprise longer, however have offered out to non-family members.

Bob will present photographs shot by his great-grandfather, grandfather, father, and a few of his personal, together with his latest picture of Stevie Van Zandt of the E Street Band and the Malvado Maple Mezcal produced by the St. Johnsbury Distillery.

James A. Kipfer is a wonderful artwork photographer whose studio is in Alna, ME. “I consider myself a photo-documentarian,” says Kipfer. “I focus on places that are distinct, with character, that are unique; places that are on the verge of disappearing either by nature or by man’s overwhelming need to homogenize our culture. My tools are analog, yet complex. I primarily use large format view cameras and gelatin silver film to record what I’m feeling. The quality of the finished contact prints capture a detail and depth that I feel is unmatched by modern digital images.”

The exhibition is free, ADA accessible, and open to the general public.

Our Next Hall Gallery Exhibition: Stereoscopes (October-December)