Monthaven Art and Cultural Center

Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center
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Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center
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Bill Puryear

Monthaven

Sage of Sumner County

Bill Puryear

Paintings, Prints and Giclee

Bill Puryear, the Sage of Sumner County, was a Vanderbilt University graduate, a Korean War veteran, and an accomplished artist and writer. During his time with the Army in Korea, he served as editor of his regimental newspaper and as a correspondent for Stars & Stripes. He taught at Vanderbilt, Fisk University, and University of Tennessee Nashville. He was founding Treasurer of Nashville Memorial Hospital and of Pope John Paul II High School in Hendersonville, and he served as Chairman Emeritus of The Memorial Foundation.

Puryear retired in 2000 as Senior Partner of the CPA firm he first founded in 1962 in order to devote full time to painting and writing. He put his time to good use and wrote multiple books. His first book is a historic trilogy, The Founding of the Cumberland Settlements. It was subsequently named Book of the Year by The Tennessee Historical Commission.

His art has been displayed in Cheekwood, the Parthenon and the Tennessee State Museum. It’s also on display in many corporate and private collections. His visual art works include landscapes, historical subjects, and musicians, among other things, comprising more than 200 works in watercolor and oils. His favorite place to paint was his private studio overlooking the Cumberland River near Gallatin.

Puryear, who passed away in February at age 89, played an indispensable role in the founding of the Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center. To celebrate his extraordinary life and his important Tennessee-inspired art, the MACC presented this retrospective of his art. The exhibit featured approximately 45 of his original paintings, prints and giclee.

More About Bill Puryear

Kaylin Warden

External Affairs Coordinator

Kaylin Warden joined the Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center staff in 2024 as External Affairs Coordinator. In this post, she organizes special off-site events and manages the organization’s external communications. She also works with the development department by updating the MACC’s customer relations database, and she assists the executive director in setting up exhibitions. Above all else, Kaylin is passionate about the arts. It comes as no surprise, then, that she is now pursuing a master’s degree in art history. When she’s not at the MACC, you can find her reading her favorite books (especially ones dealing with maritime mysteries), cooking, gardening, playing with her cat and two dogs, and cheering for the Nashville Predators.

Ruth Chase

Regional Arts Director
Ruth Chase is the Regional Arts Director of Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center, joining the team in 2023. For Ruth, the job is all about community, bringing people together to uplift and educate artists and art lovers alike. Her role at Monthaven is to strengthen the local artist community and build connections that will enrich Hendersonville and our surrounding communities through art exhibitions, art education, and opportunities for regional artists.
 
Prior to joining Monthaven, Ruth worked in the arts for over 30 years and is a multimedia artist and graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute. Her artistic practice is inquiry-based and engages in community bridge-building. She was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation from the City of Los Angeles, curated and juried exhibitions, and has taught at the Crocker Art Museum.
 
Ruth was awarded an Artist-in-Residence for Artist Activating Communities through a grant from the California Arts Council for three consecutive years. Her film Belonging screened at both the 18th Annual Nevada City Film Festival and Wild & Scenic Film Festival. She has received the Legendary Female Artist of Venice award, and she has exhibited in The Crocker Kingsley, the Museum of Northern California Art, and the Diego Rivera Gallery at the San Francisco Art Institute. Ruth also continues her work as a Curatorial Consultant and Art director for the Californian Indigenous Research Project, where she has worked with the local tribe since 2018.