Oakmont is the home of some creative people and the Oakmont Historical Society wants to show it.
Gary Rogers, president of the historical society, and Bob Bechtold, historical society board member and docent for the center, will be hosting the first ever Oakmont Historical Society Oakmont Artist Exhibit.
Seventeen artists’ work will be displayed throughout the society’s building on Allegheny River Boulevard. The pieces vary in medium including paintings, sketches and comics ranging from 1928 to 2025. One thing the creators have in common is their ties to Oakmont. Some of the artists were born and raised in the town; others moved to the borough at some point.
“Appreciation for the artists and appreciation for the art itself,” Bechtold said when asked what he hopes people take a way from the exhibit.
“And that fact that there’s always a local connection,” Rogers added.
Rogers, of Oakmont, said pieces have been collected through donations since the society’s museum opened in 2013.
Bechtold, of Penn Hills, said he got the idea for the exhibit in November when he was sorting through binders of files the society keeps.
“When I started to go through it, I couldn’t believe how many artists were in this one square mile,” Bechtold said.
Displayed works will include prints of James Bingham’s work. Bingham, an Oakmont native, made his living as an illustrator. He designed ads for companies including U.S. Steel, Neiman Marcus, Maxwell House Coffee, Gulf Oil, Cannon Towels, Caterpillar Tractor, Philadelphia Whiskey, Alcoa Steamship Company and Champion Spark Plugs. He illustrated the popular “Perry Mason” and “Tugboat Annie” series as well as other story illustrations.
The exhibit will also feature photos of the stone work and sculptures by Frank Rinaldi and Louis Vergobbi. Both men completed stonework and sculptures in Oakmont and surrounding areas. Some still stand to this day. Vergobbi completed work in Washington, D.C., including assorted work in the Immaculate Conception Cathedral. He also carved one of two eagles sitting at the entrance of Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
Creations of Ezra Stiles, a prominent Pittsburgh-based landscape architect, urban planner and artist known for creating detailed pictorial maps in the 1930s, will also be displayed.
Rogers said he and Bechtold had been working for months to begin displaying pieces and writing bios for artists.
“We had to get inventory of what we had and gather it,” Rogers said. “I can’t tell you how many times we redid it.”
The exhibit’s opening day is scheduled for Feb. 28 at 3 p.m. Rogers said living artists will be invited to see their work on display.
