George Little works out of the back of his station wagon on a painting of Union Station. Click to enlarge.
photo by Wes Schultz
In response to a recent article on local artist George Little, Chattanoogan.com photographer Wes Schultz recalled taking a photograph of him.
"(It was) taken winter of 1970-1971, just before I went to the Army."
"I was just walking around downtown, and in this case around the empty Union Station, when I saw a bearded man in a station wagon unloading buckets of water and pouring then onto the concrete in the rear shed area."
"We talked, and I asked about the buckets of water. It was then he explained he was George Little the painter, and that earlier, he had started a painting of the shed area after a rain and there were puddles."
"So, when he came back to finish painting, he had to create his own puddles. In the photo he is painting out of the rear of the station wagon."
The painting helped to document Union Station, which was demolished a few years later in 1973. Several groups had attempted to find a new use for the depot, including ideas for a local history museum and open-air market. The Krystal and Tallan buildings and Public Library were built on the former rail site.