On July 3, 2002, Robert Rittenhouse died sitting at his easel with his paintbrush in his hand. Just five months earlier, he had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
An artist for more than 50 years, Rittenhouse amassed a quantity of work that illustrates his journey as an artist and his courageous battle to pursue his passion until the end of his life.
An exhibition of his work opens Thursday at Shuptrine’s Gold Leaf Designs. “The Face of Robert Rittenhouse: This Is Who I Am” is composed of about 25 artworks in the mediums of oil, acrylic and pen-and-ink.
A reception will be held on Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m. with a gallery talk led by Dr. Mutka Panda at 6:15 p.m. Panda, professor and chair of the department of medicine at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Chattanooga, was Rittenhouse’s primary physician. The artist/patient had such an impact on Panda that she continues to share his story with her students and residents-in-training.
Rittenhouse grew up in Washington State near his grandparents’ dairy farm. Animals and nature provided him with a wealth of subject matter, and his first realistic work was of his pet robin. For the next 50 years, he captured, on paper or canvas, every thing of moving beauty.