Over 160 Slovenians and Slovenian-Americans gathered in the Ely City Hall last Sunday, Aug. 2 to celebrate the rediscovery of a painting from well-recognized Slovenian artist Harvey Gregor Prusheck.
The event followed a weekend of heritage festivities at The Slovenian Union of America (SUA) Centennial Celebration and National Convention, hosted by Fortune Bay in Tower from July 30 - Aug. 1 for nearly 400 registrants.
The program at Ely City Hall included speeches from SUA president Joe Valencic, Ely Branch 23 of the SUA president Jim Lah and Ely Heritage Preservation Commission co-chair Margaret Egan.
Attendees also heard a short performance by Slovenian vocal group Krila, who performed the Slovenian national anthem and three other cultural songs.
Prusheck was a Slovenian- American living in Chicago, where he received recognition among art circles. His paintings took center stage at shows in Cleveland, Waukegan, Chisholm and in Ely in 1935.
“In that period, he was our only recognized Slovenian artist,” Valencic said.
Prusheck visited Ely in the 1930s, an area that many others who share the family name call home. The painting at the Ely City Hall, which depicts small buildings alongside a lake, was likely created during his stay at White Iron Lake.
The painting was rediscovered in the Ely Library at the Ely Community Center at the time of its 2014 closing, when Celia Domich and Ely City Council member Angela Campbell stumbled upon the piece while sorting through the building.
The painting went on the wall in a small office in the city hall until Ely resident and local Slovenian Union of America chapter president Jim Lah determined the painting was one of Prusheck’s.
Sunday’s Pruscheck Event Day was preceded at the national convention by days of cultural events.
A celebration banquet Friday evening featured virtual remarks from President of Slovenia Natasa Pirc Musar. Consul General Suzana Cesarek and US Navy Captain and NASA astronaut Sunita Williams also spoke.
Zarja Fest took place on Saturday at the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm, an event that Lah estimated drew in around 500 people, including convention registrants and community member drop-ins.
“My goal was to make people happy and to experience Slovenian culture,” Lah said of the event’s organizing efforts.
Saturday at tende es enjoyed a polka jam, the last-ever performance of the Duluth-based musical group Singing Slovenes, polka line dancing and more.
The SUA national convention occurs once every few years. Its centennial celebration on the Iron Range is a significant event for Northern Minnesota, which has not hosted the convention since 1961, when it took place in Ely.
“I knew Fortune Bay was a beautiful campus, and part of my push was this is a different convention. Usually, you have it in the city and people go shopping and eating. But I was billing it as a family or a relaxation, recreation, revisiting (event),” Lah said.
Lah said the convention was overall a success. Sunday’s Prusheck event was an additional gem at the tail end of the weekend, as the convention typically wraps up on Saturday.
“What a beautiful event that was for the Harvey Pruscheck Day painting event. The people from around the nation or around the world saw this beautiful chamber of our city hall, saw the painting, saw the commitment of the people coming to this event,” Lah said.
“It was a grand celebration,” Lah said.
