A painting of a local bridge purchased at a flea market by Tom Hughes led to him uncovering the remarkable story of Horace Pippin, the previously unknown African-American artist from West Chester, writes Ron Devlin for the Reading Eagle.

“It was jaw-dropping beautiful,” Hughes, a Berks County resident, said of the painting of the Mary Ann Pyle Bridge in East Fallowfield Township.

However, after researching the painter, H. Pippin, he found that his natural talent was recognized by renowned artist N.C. Wyeth and art collector Albert C. Barnes.

Hughes has now written a book – Finding Horace Pippin: The Story of the Mary Ann Pyle Bridge Painting – that is available on Amazon.

The book tells of an artist born in 1888 in West Chester who volunteered during World War I and served with the famed Harlem Hellfighters.

“He was wounded and almost lost his painting arm,” said Hughes.

An agent who saw Pippin’s work persuaded Wyeth to view it, and Wyeth then convinced Barnes to have a look.

They encouraged Pippin to paint for an exhibition that debuted in 1938 as part of the Museum of Modern Art’s traveling exhibition called “Masters of Popular Painting.”

The artist painted around 140 works before he died in 1946 at the age of 58.

Read more about Horace Pippin in the Reading Eagle here.

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