From the Archives

Thanksgiving Homecoming in Historic Fort Lee

A restored "Historic Fort Lee" painting will be dedicated at the Fort Lee Public Library on Saturday at 12 p.m.

The Ortlip family of artists are among many artists who called Fort Lee their home from the 19th through the 20th century. As hard as it may seem to believe today, back in the post-Civil War era through the early part of the 20th century, Fort Lee was a resort community with lavish hotels atop the Palisades.  Here many artists ventured to capture on canvas the wonderful views of the Hudson River atop the bluffs of Fort Lee’s Palisades. Many artists associated with the famous Ashcan School of the early 20th century created their art in Fort Lee. It was a realist artistic movement made up of eight members, including John French Sloan and Edward Hopper. Other artists of note to work and live in Fort Lee were George Overbury Hart, better known…

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Library to Dedicate Restored ‘Historic Fort Lee’ Painting

The painting by the late Fort Lee artist Paul Ortlip was damaged over a period of many years, but it’s now been restored and is slated for permanent display at the Fort Lee Public Library, with a dedication planned Saturday.

Thanks to the efforts of the Fort Lee Historical Society and the Fort Lee Public Library Board of Trustees, a part of the borough’s history has been restored after many years of neglect. A large painting by the late artist Paul Ortlip, a Fort Lee native, had been hanging in a small area of the Fort Lee Public Library’s meeting room, where it wasn’t really visible to the public and sustained significant damage over time. The Historical Society and the Library Board worked to have the 1970 Ortlip painting fully restored, and now that the restoration is complete, a dedication is planned for Saturday in the library’s gallery, where the painting will hang permanently. “The late Arthur Bruni, who was a very important member of the community, had…

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