Of Brian, butchers, scholars and garlic part 2

NORTH BENNINGTON -- This is the 1923 photograph Brian Hewitt fell in love with so much that he painted it one day as part of the "North Bennington" series. He called it "Main Street" -- read part 1 here.

"This photo is quite ubiquitous in North Bennington," Brian said this morning via Facebook. "My father made me a copy of it years ago and it traveled with me to 16 different houses I lived in and it always reminded me of my hometown so I just wanted to bring it to life."

To recap, the man in the white shirt and white hip apron and trousers of the day is Pete Panos standing in front of his store that sold soda, sugar and stogies. There are those Ford Model-Ts mentioned in part 1 of this series, and the space in the left end of the two-story building belonged to Richard R. Dwyer, the butcher of North B.

Ninety years later it belongs to Kevin Lynch, owner of Kevin's Sports Pub and Restaurant, and a framed version of the photograph above hangs on a wall in the dining area. This morning, Kevin posed with the photo ...

Back to the point of this series: Brian Hewitt painted the 1923 photograph as only he could with his favorite new style -- diamond orientation, fish-eye perspective -- as well as 2 others in the "North Bennington" series and sold all 3 originals.

North Bennington series: "Main Street"

North Bennington series: NB Firehouse

North Bennington series: Prospect Street
Buy Brian's prints HERE

Reproduced prints of the series hang in the mezzanine at Fiddlehead at Four Corners art gallery in downtown Bennington, and the "Main Street" print ($500 value) will be raffled during the second day of the Garlic Festival at Camelot Village on September 1.

Tickets cost $5 (or $20 for 5) and can be bought at Fiddlehead, the Bennington Chamber of Commerce, Kevin's Sports Pub and Evans News. Call (802) 447-1000 for more information.

Proceeds benefit one of Bennington's favorite charities, Dollars For Scholars.