Bernard Badura, Raven Rock Quarry

Bursting with vibrance, this scene depicts a two-storied house on the edge of the abandoned Raven Rock quarry in New Hope, Pennsylvania. A great space is felt between the building in the distance and the rusted pipes lay amongst the plant life in the foreground. Of the painting, Badura’s wife, fellow artist Faye Swengel, wrote, “Mr. Badura always liked to paint in the late afternoon and early evening when the light is very rich.” The colors presented certainly reinforce her statement; the saturated hues lend a lively ambience to the scene, from the vibrant sky to the geometric shapes of the quarry wall to the delicate flowers closest to the viewer. In regards to the small body of water in the lower left corner, Faye Swengel added a small anecdote: “After painting, Mr. Badura would fish in the quarry pool and take catfish for a late supper...I vouch for the above because I also made a painting at the same place at the same time.” A sketch of a nearby Lambertville Quarry  can be found in Woodmere’s collection as well.