News

Stewart Museum to Release Limited Edition Print of "Jimmy's Boyhood Home"

Indiana, PA ’Äì November 14, 2006 ’Äì On Thursday, December 7th, The Jimmy Stewart Museum will be hosting an artist reception a preview sale of a new limited edition print of an original canvas by George H. Rothacker of ’ÄúJimmy Stewart’Äôs Boyhood Home’Äù¬Ý located at 104 N. 7th Street in Indiana, Pa.

The reception will be at the Museum from 5 to 7:00 and feature a viewing of the original painting along with other works by the artist. Accompanying the artist in his signing will be Dolly Miller, who along with her husband Donald Miller, purchased the property from the Alec Stewart estate in 1962.

¬ÝAccording to Mr. Rothacker, the print will be available in two versions, ’Äú’Ķ a signed, titled, and numbered limited edition of only 125 featuring the painting of the house, as well as a larger signed edition that includes an image of Mr. Stewart and text that describes the house.’Äù

Rothacker studied at the Philadelphia College of Art and subsequently opened his own design studio in 1978. Since 1968 Mr. Rothacker has won numerous awards for his fine art and commercial work, has been represented in many collections and published in numerous periodicals including the Baltimore Sun, Philadelphia Magazine, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Scientific American and the New York Times. In 2002, Mr. Rothacker painted and produced a limited edition of prints of¬Ý ’ÄúFirst Snowfall,’Äù that featured the Indiana Theater in the snow with ’ÄúIt’Äôs a Wonderful Life’Äù featured on the marquee.

Commenting on his new painting. Mr. Rothacker said ’ÄúI painted Jimmy Stewart’Äôs boyhood home as it looked in the 1950s. With movies behind him like ’ÄúMr. Smith goes to Washington,’Äù ’ÄúIt’Äôs a Wonderful Life,’Äù and ’ÄúHarvey’Äù Jimmy Stewart was at the zenith of his career. I have been told by Museum curator Tim Harley, ,that through the late 40s and early ’Äò50s Jimmy Stewart would buy a new Packard automobile for his father each year. 1953 Packard that sits in the driveway at the 104 North Seventh residence adds to the period atmosphere of the painting, as does the reclamation of some of the foliage and details of the house as it was during the 1950s.’Äù

’ÄúWe are expecting the ’Äòlimited edition’Äô of prints will sell quickly,’Äù said Tim Harley. ’ÄúWe encourage anyone who wishes to purchase a print to join us at the reception especially since Dolly Miller and I will both be signing the prints during the reception, along with Mr. Rothacker.

Upper Darby High School 40th Reunion

September 17, 2005, George Rothacker will be signing and numbering his limited edition prints of the Tower Theatre as it appeared in the 1960s. "We were the largest class of 'baby boomers,'" said George. "There were more than 900 of us, and we graduated from the Tower which has 3500 seats. We were limited to tickets for our family. I don't remember how long it took to go through the ceremony and name all of the graduates, but my daughter's class this year totaled 240, and that took forever!"

Funds from the sale of the prints, at the reunion as well as online, will go to the "Upper Darby High School Class of 1965 Scholarship Fund." "We already have money in the fund for sales, and hope to sell many of the remaining prints of the edition of 500. 50% of the sale of any theatre print sold as a result of the reunion effort will be donated to the fund."

For more information:

Linda Finarelli
1437 Southwind Way
Dresher, PA 19025

Any questions, call: Linda at 215-643-9798,
or Barb (Davis) Schultes at (856)464-1448.
(Click here for additional information)


Show and Sale of The Paintings of Radnor
February 27, 2005, George will be selling his original paintings of Radnor. More than 70 paintings of the Township will be presented including 10 large works. The show will benefit the Radnor High School Scholarship Fund (Click here for additional information)


"Eye on Philadelphia" CBS-3 News (October 12, 2003)
Feature on George’s Theater Paintings
Click Here to see Video (requires Quicktime).


"Main Line Today Magazine" Article.
The August issue features an artcile on George and his
calendar in the Front line section on Page 10.
Click Here to see article.


New Calendar for 2004 in the works.
2004 Calendar of Classic Movie Houses to be produced in cooperation with First Keystone Federal Savings Bank.
Click Here to see calendar.


New Theater Painting is Completed.
The Colonial Theater in Phoenixville, known for its presence in the 1958 movie, ”The Blob” (the late actor Steve McQueen’s first movie) is undergoing a restoration. In conjunction with the restoration, George H. Rothacker has produced a 40' x 30' painting of the theater, and will be issuing a limited edition of 500 signed and numbered prints. A signing is scheduled for spring, 2003.

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