Barbara Ernst Prey print show opens July 3 in Port Clyde

Wed, 06/25/2014 - 4:15pm

Blue Water Fine Arts is pleased to present Barbara Ernst Prey: The Print Show featuring a series of 20 newly released prints from July 3 to July 20.

New print releases of Hydrangeas (Collection Bush Presidential Library) and Family Portrait (collection The Brooklyn Museum) produced in collaboration with U.L.A.E., which produces prints of Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns, are included in the exhibit as are prints of her iconic painting Patriot and her NASA commissioned work.

Prey’s prints are in U.S. Embassies worldwide as well as many prominent collections including those of the White House, Orlando Bloom and Tom Hanks. Her work “Parade Route” is currently on view at the US Embassy in Hong Kong. A print of “Parade Route,” as well as two of her most sought after pieces “Hydrangeas” and “The Collection” will be on display in July. The Collection was selected by the U.S. State Department as the invitation image for every U.S. Ambassador and Embassy worldwide July 4th celebration.

Also included in the exhibit is a selection of small originals offering a preview of her upcoming annual exhibit, showcasing her virtuosic technique, authentic vision and distinctly American style. This is truly a great opportunity to have access to a diverse range of Barbara’s original fine art prints.

As one of the key figures of 21st century landscape painting, Prey was appointed by the President of the United States to the National Council on the Arts, the advisory board of the National Endowment for the Arts. Members are chosen for their established record of distinguished service and achievement in the arts. Previous members include noted artists Leonard Bernstein, Marian Anderson, John Steinbeck, Richard Diebenkorn and Isaac Stern. She is the only visual artist appointed to the National Council on the Arts.

Heckscher Museum Director Michael Schantz said of Prey, “Barbara’s flawless technique ranks her among the most important artists who ever painted in the medium.”

The New York Times writes, “Prey is going where icons Rauschenberg and Warhol have gone before.”

The artist graduated from Williams College where she studied with Lane Faison and has a masters from Harvard University where she was able to continue her art history studies. She was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and a Henry Luce Foundation grant for her art which enabled her to travel, study and exhibit extensively in Europe and Asia.

Prey is an art blogger for The Huffington Post, a frequent lecturer and an arts advocate as well as adjunct faculty at Williams College. With work in the White House’s permanent collection, her appointment to the National Council on the Arts, the advisory body to the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as a long list of important private, public, national and international collections, her place as a significant American artist is secure.

Prey’s much anticipated annual exhibit “Barbara Ernst Prey: American Contemporary 40 Years Painting Maine” is at Blue Water Fine Arts July 19 through August.

Blue Water Fine Arts is located on Main Street, Route 131, in Port Clyde. The gallery is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and by appointment. For more information, visit www.bluewaterfinearts.com or send an email: inquiries@bluewaterfinearts.com.