July 18, 2008

Mackinaw City, Mich. - Mackinac State Historic Parks (MSHP) will host an art exhibit and sale of the work of Robert Griffing Saturday, July 19 and Sunday, July 20 at the Visitor's Center of Colonial Michilimackinac in Mackinaw City.

Entrance to the Griffing show is included with Colonial Michilimackinac admission: $10 for adults, $6.25 for youth ages 5-17, and free for children 4 and under and Mackinac Associate members. The art show lasts from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days.

Griffing is renowned for his illustrations of 18th-century Eastern Woodland Indians. The art exhibit and sale features framed and matted prints, videos, stationery and note cards depicting Native American and military heritage. Hardbound copies of the colorfully illustrated book The Art of Robert Griffing also will be available.

One of Griffing's most recent works is set in Mackinaw City. Called The Conspiracy - Fort Michilimackinac - 1863, the painting vividly portrays a group of Ojibwa tribesmen plotting a surprise attack just outside the palisades of the historic fort and trading outpost.

"Griffing's work is of the highest quality and very sought-after," said MSHP Museum Stores Manager Ron Crandell. "To have his exhibit here, at a site that has inspired his work, is very special."

After retiring from a 30-year advertising career in 1992, Griffing turned his attention to illustrating his first love: the 18th-century Eastern Woodland Indian. His work receives growing interest from collectors across the United States. Griffing received the prestigious 1999 John Forbes Medal for his contributions to the study of eastern frontier history.

The Colonial Michilimackinac Visitor's Center is located under the south end of the Mackinac Bridge. This living history site features live interpretation of military life, fur trade activities and daily life in the 1770s. Interactive demonstrations include rifle and cannon firing, cooking, children's games and a French colonial wedding.

Mackinac State Historic Parks, a pure Michigan family of living history museums and parks in northern Michigan's Straits of Mackinac, is an agency within the Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries. Its sites - which are accredited by the American Association of Museums - include Fort Mackinac, Mackinac Island State Park and Historic Downtown on Mackinac Island, and Colonial Michilimackinac, Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse and Historic Mill Creek Discovery Park in Mackinaw City. Mackinac State Historic Parks is governed by the Mackinac Island State Park Commission, established in 1895 to protect, preserve and present the parks' rich historic and natural resources for the education and recreation of future generations. Visitor information is available at (231) 436-4100 or on the Web at www.MackinacParks.com.

Read more press releases from the Department of History, Arts and Libraries (HAL).