As part of our annual exhibit Barbara Ernst Prey: America’s Artist Forty Years of Painting Prey will donate proceeds of her print, “Tandem” to the Wounded Warrior Project.  The print can be viewed during her exhibit at Blue Water Fine Arts  Gallery in Port Clyde through August 19.  The original painting is in the collection of Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson.

As one of the key figures in 21^st 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. She is the only visual artist on the 14 member Board Previous members include noted artists Leonard Bernstein and John Steinbeck. This fall the Heckscher Museum in New York honored Prey with their “Celebrate Achievement Award” for her accomplishments and contributions to American art and culture on a local, national and global level.  Heckscher Museum Director Michael Schantz said, “Barbara Ernst Prey [is] one of America’s most gifted watercolorists…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”.

As an artistic Ambassador, her artwork is displayed in more than 100 Embassies and Consulates worldwide through the U.S. Art in Embassies program.  As a NASA artist she is among an elite group of American artists who have documented space history.  She was recently featured on the CBS Evening News and CBS Sunday Morning for her NASA artwork currently in a Smithsonian traveling exhibit. Prey is the recipient of many honors and  awards including the New York State Senate Women of Distinction Award. She was invited by the President and First Lady to paint the official White House Christmas card.   Her paintings are in numerous prominent collections worldwide including The White House, The Brooklyn Museum, Smithsonian National Museum of American Art, President and Mrs. George W. Bush, Harvard Business School, Williams College Museum of Art, Kennedy Space Center and Tom Hanks. A graduate of Williams College with a master’s degree from Harvard, she was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and a grant from The Henry Luce Foundation for her work.

“I am thrilled to support The Wounded Warriors Project through the donation of my print “Tandem”, Prey said. The Wounded Warriors Project mission is to aid and assist wounded service members as they return home from combat.

For more information:  www.barbaraprey.com or 372-8087

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Gallery Location: Main Street, Route 131, Port Clyde, Maine

Gallery Hours: Daily, 10am-5pm, and by appointment