Howard Finster and His Garden of Paradise
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 Howard's Letter telling the story of Paradise Garden. |
Photo by Jenni Murphy
Howard Finster may very well be the most well know modern folk artist of the 20th Century. The culmination of his artistic genius was a visual art site known today as Paradise Garden. Paradise Garden was begun in 1961 in the unincorporated community of Pennville, near Summerville, Georgia. Originally called the Plant Farm Museum by the artist, it was later dubbed Paradise Garden after Esquire magazine published an article titled Gardens of Paradise in December of 1975. The year following had two additions to the Garden which included the renaming to Paradise Garden by Finster. Also, in 1976 Paradise Garden was the site of a life changing vision for the artist as he had a vision to paint sacred art and to do 5,000 paintings. Howard thereafter dedicated himself to his profession by putting his tools from his most lucrative job of bicycle repair in a concrete sidewalk and painting over 47,000 works.
Paradise Garden attained international pop icon status after Howard Finster's vision. The outdoor art environment has been the subject of many documentaries and articles. The site is listed by many travel publications as a top destination. Images of the site can be seen on cover art and is included in music videos from groups like REM, Black Hawk and the Talking Heads. Howard Finster cultivated a landscape that also included other artist's work at the Garden, such as Pop Art icon Keith Haring and graffiti Miami artist Purvis Young. Howard and his garden were also featured on NBC’s The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Paradise Garden is a maze of buildings, sculptures and displays. The Gardens were built from found objects and recycled materials ranging from bottles, bathtubs and toilets to bicycle frames and cast-off jewelry.
Sadly, toward the end of Howard's life and career, the historic site began to fall into disrepair as his health declined. After Howard's death in October of 2001 the site stayed open and was maintained for almost a decade. The sites importance and deteriorated state influenced it to be listed on the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation's 2010 Places in Peril listing. The listing as a Place in Peril brought not only state and national attention to the condition of the site but also allowed for professional advisement from the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation. The Georgia Trust worked with the then owner of the site on the process for the Garden to be listed the National Register of Historic Places. Dr. Keith Herbert voluntarily created the district nomination with the support of the Georgia Trust and all persons who owned sections of the nominated Paradise Garden Historic District.
In 2010 a potential for the local government of Chattooga County to buy the property from the then owning not for profit organization that had originally been started by Howard Finster's youngest daughter became a possibility through a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). In December of 2011, with $125,000 in ARC grant money and private donations, Chattooga County purchased the Garden. The ARC had made as a stipulation of federal funds that there be the creation of a site management plan that would guide the transition of ownership and help to implement proven successful restoration activities. The Georgia Trust assisted the county with a Request of Qualifications and Proposals to implement a site management plan and over 20 responses were submitted. The Architectural Firm of Lord Aeck and Sargent (LAS) was selected to undertake the plan. LAS compiled a consortium of professionals that included the National Trust for Historic Preservation with heritage tourism advisement, the curator from The High Museum and Howard Finster's official biographer Tom Patterson.
January of 2012 was witness to the formation of the Paradise Garden Foundation (PGF). Chattooga County’s Development Authority entered into a 50 year lease with the Foundation to oversee the management of the property. A Board of 10 local Directors was appointed. A group study of the site was conducted with an information gathering session and site assessment. This analysis helped guide the professional team of LAS to create a cohesive plan for the use and restoration of the historic folk art site. The plan was finalized in May of 2012. Before the finalization of the plan the PGF worked with the Architectural firm LAS in continual discussion to follow suggestions towards initial projects that were started before the finalization of the site management plan.
Paradise Garden attained international pop icon status after Howard Finster's vision. The outdoor art environment has been the subject of many documentaries and articles. The site is listed by many travel publications as a top destination. Images of the site can be seen on cover art and is included in music videos from groups like REM, Black Hawk and the Talking Heads. Howard Finster cultivated a landscape that also included other artist's work at the Garden, such as Pop Art icon Keith Haring and graffiti Miami artist Purvis Young. Howard and his garden were also featured on NBC’s The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Paradise Garden is a maze of buildings, sculptures and displays. The Gardens were built from found objects and recycled materials ranging from bottles, bathtubs and toilets to bicycle frames and cast-off jewelry.
Sadly, toward the end of Howard's life and career, the historic site began to fall into disrepair as his health declined. After Howard's death in October of 2001 the site stayed open and was maintained for almost a decade. The sites importance and deteriorated state influenced it to be listed on the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation's 2010 Places in Peril listing. The listing as a Place in Peril brought not only state and national attention to the condition of the site but also allowed for professional advisement from the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation. The Georgia Trust worked with the then owner of the site on the process for the Garden to be listed the National Register of Historic Places. Dr. Keith Herbert voluntarily created the district nomination with the support of the Georgia Trust and all persons who owned sections of the nominated Paradise Garden Historic District.
In 2010 a potential for the local government of Chattooga County to buy the property from the then owning not for profit organization that had originally been started by Howard Finster's youngest daughter became a possibility through a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). In December of 2011, with $125,000 in ARC grant money and private donations, Chattooga County purchased the Garden. The ARC had made as a stipulation of federal funds that there be the creation of a site management plan that would guide the transition of ownership and help to implement proven successful restoration activities. The Georgia Trust assisted the county with a Request of Qualifications and Proposals to implement a site management plan and over 20 responses were submitted. The Architectural Firm of Lord Aeck and Sargent (LAS) was selected to undertake the plan. LAS compiled a consortium of professionals that included the National Trust for Historic Preservation with heritage tourism advisement, the curator from The High Museum and Howard Finster's official biographer Tom Patterson.
January of 2012 was witness to the formation of the Paradise Garden Foundation (PGF). Chattooga County’s Development Authority entered into a 50 year lease with the Foundation to oversee the management of the property. A Board of 10 local Directors was appointed. A group study of the site was conducted with an information gathering session and site assessment. This analysis helped guide the professional team of LAS to create a cohesive plan for the use and restoration of the historic folk art site. The plan was finalized in May of 2012. Before the finalization of the plan the PGF worked with the Architectural firm LAS in continual discussion to follow suggestions towards initial projects that were started before the finalization of the site management plan.