Painting up for bids at library fundraiser

EAGLE LAKE — A painting by a local artist who rubbed shoulders with a Hollywood legend and worked in the aircraft industry will be included in a silent auction to raise funds for the Eula & David Wintermann Library.

The gold-framed oil painting by the late Eagle Lake artist Marilynn Dannels depicts a delicate pink-and-blue floral design that draws attention to “magnificent white magnolias,” according to a release from the Eula & David Wintermann Friends of the Library.

The artwork is open fo bids during the Friend’s silent auction and dinner to benefit the library, scheduled for Sept. 23 in the Eagle Lake Community Center, 100 N. Walnut Ave.

Dannels’ career Includes working with the legendary Hollywood costume designer Edith Head, and teaching ballroom dancing with Arthur Murray before taking a job as a draftsman for Boeing Aircraft in Wichita, Kansas, according to the release.

After she married Jack Dannels, the couple moved to Eagle Lake in 1953. She began painting seriously after taking lessons in Houston and in Cloudcroft, New Mexico.

In 1974, she opened Dannels Designs, a frame shop and art studio on Prairie Avenue where she taught art and also conducted classes in dancing, bridge and sewing.

Meanwhile, she continued to paint, often in the classic representational style that included landscapes, still life, portraits and flowers.

One of her most-loved subjects was magnolia blossoms, the Friends said.

Dannels, who was born in 1923, died in 2008.

The silent auction and dinner supports programs and services offered to the community by the library.