Trading Post Update

by Beth Hanson

Recently, the Trading Post received a donation of an original watercolor painting by the artist Suzanne  (Susi) Hesselbarth.   Whenever something is donated to us that seems especially valuable, we do some research on it before deciding whether to sell in at the TP, on eBay, or in a consignment store.  Since our goal is to raise money for the church’s mission projects, we want to make the most of such opportunities and sell such items for a respectable price.     

It turns out that Ms. Hesselbarth and her husband (a sculptor) had moved to Tubac, Arizona, from New York City in 1964 at the urging of some artist friends.  (Historic Tubac is located 50 miles south of Tucson and is described as an artists’ colony.)  Later in life, Susi lived with her daughter, Kim Yubeta, a jewelry artist in Tubac.  Unfortunately, in 2005, the home they were living in burned to the ground.  In addition to losing all of their possessions, including thousands of dollars worth of Kim’s jewelry, Suzi lost much of her artwork.  Suzi died the following year. 

I tried for a while to contact Susi’s daughter to see if she would like to have the painting, especially in light of discovering that so much of her mother’s artwork had been lost in the fire.  I didn’t have any luck connecting with her, so next, I contacted the Tubac Historical Society (THC) which has information about the Hesselbarths on its website.  I asked if they would be interested in having one of Susi’s original watercolors, and to my delight, they were excited for the opportunity.  It turns out that in spite of being a renowned local artist, they did not have a single Hesselbarth watercolor in their collection.  Without me asking, they offered to pay for shipping and also to give us a donation for missions.

So, off to UPS I went with the Hesselbarth so they could securely wrap it in yards of bubble wrap and ship it off to Arizona where it would be treasured and seen by many.  Last week, in return, I received a check for $300 for missions!  In the accompanying letter, the Secretary of the THC said: 

”I know that paintings cannot speak, but I think the painting is happy to be back in Tubac where it was created.  As I imagine you know from our website, Jarl and Suzanne Hesselbarth moved to Tubac in 1964.  Jarl was a Norwegian biologist and sailing master who created metal and ceramic scuptures.  Susi was an accomplished painter and many of her creations ended up adorning ceramic tiles which were used for tables and street signs.  The Tubac Historical Society owns two examples of her ceramic tile tables, but until now, we had never owned one of Susi’s paintings.  We will display the painting with pride.”

 It is a little extra work, but it is so satisfying to shepherd a donated item to just the right place in the world.  Here is a picture of Susi Hesselbarth at work in her studio:

  

The donated Hesselbarth watercolor, now residing in Tubac, Arizona.

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