BELLEVILLE — The walls of Belleville Henderson Central School’s new agriculture wing will feature artwork reflective of the community’s agrarian heritage.

The district in late January received six signed and numbered prints from well-known agriculture artist Bonnie Mohr.

“The walls are bare, and the idea was to have them filled with agricultural prints,” said Edward F. “Ned” Martelle, district Board of Education president. He estimated the value of the pieces, which depict scenes of farm life and agriculture competitions, at more than $800.

Mr. Martelle, who owns Fishhook Frames, Henderson, framed each of the prints for free in a different species of local wood, including maple, cherry, red oak, ash, black walnut and more than 100-year-old barnboard.

Mr. Martelle, who has sold Mrs. Mohr’s work at various craft shows in the past, referred to the school’s long-running FFA chapter when he talked with a representative of the artist.

“I just asked, and she was very gracious,” he said.

Mr. Martelle said it would be special for the district to have work by a well-known artist hanging in its halls.

Superintendent Rick T. Moore said that he hoped the prints would help students “develop a sensitivity and respect for the work in the community.”

“To walk past these paintings, it reinforces that lifestyle,” Mr. Moore said.

Mrs. Mohr, Glencoe, Minn., has received numerous awards since she began painting in the late 1980s and has seen her work presented at agriculture events across the country. Her work has been used by several companies in advertising campaigns and has been featured in multiple national magazines. Her work may be found at www.bonniemohr.com.

Thousands of readers like you have made Northern New York Newspapers the number one ranked website* for local news and sports coverage in the north country.

You can continue on to this article in a few seconds, or you can visit one of our websites:

• Watertown Daily Times
• The Ogdensburg Journal
• Daily Courier-Observer