Peggy Grant's quest to keep her husband's legacy alive
by Kim Edwards
Toledo City Paper, August, 1999
Long before Tammy Wynette penned the lyrics to "Stand By Your Man," Peggy Grant took the words to heart. From the moment she met Adam Grant, she knew he was a great painter, and she took it upon herself to promote his work in any way possible. While Grant was most interested in painting a piece and then going on to the next work of art, his wife found her interest in making sure Grant's art received the public exposure it deserved.
Seven years after Adam Grant's death, Peggy Grant is still standing by her man. She was a New York-schooled painter who met and later married Grant while they were both employed by the Palmer Paint Company (famous for its paint-by-number kits) in Detroit. "l encouraged Adam to exhibit his work from the day I met him." "I made him enter a show at the Detroit Institute of Art, and that was the first time he'd ever shown publicly. I'm still working today to see that his work is not forgotten, and that it goes to the right places," says Peggy.
One of those right places turned out to be the Auschwitz Museum, to which Peggy Grant recently donated three of Adam's watercolors from a series he did while living in a displaced person's camp in Germany in 1946. Prior to that time Grant was incarcerated at Mauthausen concentration camp which was liberated at the end of World War II. Grant had been imprisoned at Auschwitz previous to Mauthausen.
Known as "The Holocaust Series," the paintings were first shown in a 1996 retrospective of Grant's work at 20 North Gallery at 20 North St. CIair Street in downtown Toledo, where Peggy is the artistic director. There are three remaining works in "The Holocaust Series," and Peggy hopes to donate those pieces to Mauthausen at a future date. "It gives me great satisfaction to have given these paintings away," says Peggy. "They should be in a place where future generations can see them, to make a connection to this twentieth century happening. There are even doubters who don't believe a thing like that [the Holocaust] happened. I can't imagine why they would doubt it. All they have to do is go to Auschwitz to see."
Having gained prominence throughout his lifetime as a figure painter, in addition to the works at Auschwitz, Grant has paintings in several permanent collections including those of The ButIer Institute of American Art, The University of Yoledo, Bowling Green State University, and the Owens-Illinois Corporate Collection. "My whole life, ever since I met Adam, was [dedicated to] seeing that his work was shown. If it were up to him, nobody would have ever seen his work. He was a very private man. It was the satisfaction of doing the work that was rewarding to him. He was always on to the next one. He never looked back and said, 'Oh, I love that one or this one.' He'd just stack them up and go on to the next one," Peggy said.
Serving as artistic director of 20 North Gallery allows Peggy the opportunity to put some of her enthusiasm to work. "Every artist needs someone who totally believes in them, and who will do whatever it takes to get their work seen. I believe in Adam, and there are other artists I really believe in too," she says. "The Toledo area is so rich [with artists], and I don't think people know that.
"You're never a prophet in your own hometown," Peggy offers. "But Adam had a following. If you see his work, you recognize his work. It's absolutely his. "Adam had to teach himself to paint. He never had the opportunity to go to art school. He painted," says Peggy, "because he had to." And with a smile on her face that speaks volumes about knowing a person and loving him, she tells a story about how he would spend morning to night in his studio and she would have to go in after him and drag him out, telling him to 'Clean up' that's enough now.
Apparently Adam was not the only Grant doing something because he "had to." Peggy Grant is tireless in her desire to make sure Adam's work is seen. Luckily for everyone who ever has or ever will someday view one of Adam Grant's works, Peggy Grant is nowhere near saying, "That's enough now."
Kim Edwards is an area freelance writer.