william irvine€¦ · william irvine a walk by the sea july 15 – august 9, 2019 6 court street...

William irvine

William irvineA Walk By The Sea

July 15 – august 9, 2019

6 court street ellsworth, maine 04605 courthousegallery.com 207 667 6611

Evening Walk with Baxter, 2019, oil on board, 12 x 16 inches

cover A Walk by the Sea, 2019, oil on canvas, 24 x 30 inches

Evening Sea, 2019, oil on canvas, 24 x 30 inches

Lovers, 2019, oil on board, 12 x 16 inches

Walking the Dog, 2019, oil on canvas, 24 x 30 inches

Through the Storm, 2019, oil on canvas, 24 x 30 inches

A Walk By The Sea

i grew up by the sea. it has been a constant presence in my life. When i walk by the shore, it is like being on a tight rope: keeping my balance until i fall into the magic beyond the ordinary, when you feel connected to the infinite.

it’s difficult if not impossible to explain a painting; words tend to be colorful, grand, and insufficient. We can talk about technique, we can describe the objects in a painting, but that spark, that thing that makes a painting come alive, that we cannot describe.

i can mention my gulls, my clouds, the boats, the islands, the waves, but these are just letters in a personal alphabet that i use, hoping to bring to life that moment of wonder that i experienced while walking.

— William irvine

A Walk By The Sea, 2019, oil on canvas, 24 x 30 inches

Evening Return, 2019, oil on canvas, 24 x 30 inches

The Bathing Hut, 2019, oil on board, 12 x 16 inches

Rose Sea, 2019, oil on board, 12 x 16 inches

Watching the Gulls, 2019, oil on canvas, 24 x 30 inches

A Patch of Blue, 2019, oil on board, 36 x 40 inches

Girl Taking a Shower, 2019, oil on board, 12 x 16 inches

Feeding the Gulls I, 2019, oil on canvas, 24 x 30 inches

The Lighthouse, 2019, oil on canvas, 36 x 40 inches

Between The Islands, 2019, oil on canvas, 24 x 30 inches

Down to the Sea, 2019, oil on board, 12 x 16 inches

Resting Fisherman, 2019, oil on board, 12 x 16 inches

Into the Blue, 2019, oil on canvas, 24 x 30 inches

Riding the Blue Waves, 2019, oil on canvas, 24 x 30 inches

Girl with a Cat, 2019, oil on board, 12 x 16 inches

The Drifting Cloud, 2019, oil on canvas, 24 x 30 inches

Night Sail, 2019, oil on canvas, 24 x 30 inches

Thunder Sea, 2019, oil on canvas, 20 x 30 inches

The Gathering Storm, 2019, oil on board, 12 x 16 inches

Lighthouse, 2019, oil on canvas, 30 x 48 inches

The Folded Cloud, 2019, oil on canvas, 24 x 30 inches

The Big Cloud, 2019, oil on museum board, 30 x 40 inches

The Green Sea, 2019, oil on board, 12 x 16 inches

The French Lighthouse, 2019, oil on board, 12 x 16 inches

Open Sea, 2019, oil on canvas, 24 x 30 inches

Evening Sail with mark Bell, 2019, porcelain plate

The Lone Sail, 2019, oil on canvas, 24 x 30 inches

Umbrella Vase with mark Bell, 2019, porcelain vase

Lighthouse In Fog with mark Bell, 2019, porcelain plate

William Irvine (b.1931) was born and raised in Troon, a small town on the Atlantic coast of Scotland, a few miles from Alloway where the poet Robert Burns was born. Irvine became interested in art as a young boy and majored in art at Marr College, a progressive secondary school in Troon. When the family of whiskey magnate Johnnie Walker heard about two budding artists at Marr (Irvine and his best friend William Crozier1), they invited the boys for a private viewing of Walker’s art collection. This was Irvine’s first opportunity to see original paintings by the masters.

Irvine graduated with a degree in drawing and painting from the Glasgow School of Art in 1953. After his National Service in the Scottish army, Irvine moved

to London. During his ten years there, Irvine exhibited in many galleries, including one-man shows at the Drian Gallery and the Parton Gallery. In 1960, he met and married Stephanie Schram, an American student studying in London.

After seeing a newspaper advertisement for property in Maine, the young couple moved to the United States in 1967. They settled on the coast of Maine in Washington County. A few years later, they bought a house in Blue Hill, Maine, and the old attached barn became Irvine’s studio for the next forty-two years.

Maine proved to be a turning point. Irvine combined the abstract with the figurative, producing bold new seascapes, landscapes, and still lifes. He was also moved by the everyday lives of the men and women living and working in these coastal villages. Paintings of these people, as well as his experimental seascapes, became lifelong themes for Irvine.

In 1985, Stephanie died after a long illness. Irvine married Margery Wilson in 1995. They built a house and studio on the shore overlooking the sea in Brooklin, Maine. Living in such close proximity to the ocean provides Irvine with daily sources of inspiration. He still lives there today with Margery and their Shetland sheepdog, Tam O’ Shanter.

William Irvine and his dog, Tam O’ Shanter, Brooklin, Maine, 2017

William irvine

1. irvine and William Crozier attended marr College and the glasgow school of art together. they moved to london and became part of the artistic and literary scene of 1950s soho. Crozier went on to become a noted British painter.

One PersOn eXHiBitiOnsCourthouse gallery Fine art, ellsworth, me 2012, 2014–2019greenhut gallery, Portland, me 2017the scottish gallery, edinburgh, scotland 2016marshall store gallery, york, me 2015gleason gallery, Boothbay Harbor, me 2011, ’12, ’13, ’14leighton gallery, Blue Hill, me 1986–2011Firehouse gallery, Damariscotta, me 2002–2009studio e, Palm Beach, Fl 2003–2006shaw gallery, northeast Harbor, me 2003, ’05, ’07mcgrath Dunham gallery, Castine, me 2001–2006george marshall store gallery, york, me 2005eastland gallery, Portland, me 2001Carnegie museum, university of maine, Orono, me 2000Davidson and Daughters, Portland, me 1996, 1999leighton gallery, Westford, ma 1982, 1995art alliance, Philadelphia, Pa 1993June Fitzpatrick gallery, Portland, me 1992Bayview gallery, Portland, me 1989noel Butcher gallery, Philadelphia, Pa 1982-–1986John little gallery, Clark university, Worcester, ma 1980rudolph gallery, Woodstock, ny and miami, Fl 1968–1976Drian gallery, london, england 1960, 1962Parton gallery, london, england 1960mclellan gallery, glasgow, scotland 1958Carnegie library, ayr, scotland 1949

seleCteD grOuP eXHiBitiOnsCourthouse gallery Fine art, ellsworth, me 2007–presentgleason gallery, Boothbay Harbor, me 2011–presentgeorge marshall store gallery, york, me 2007–present greenhut gallery, Portland, me 2006–presentelan gallery, rockport, me 2007Center for maine Contemporary art, rockport, me 2006–2013turtle gallery, Deer isle, me 2006Penobscot marine museum at searsport, me 2002marine environmental research institute, Blue Hill, me 2001monmouth museum, lincroft, nJ 1984mast Cove gallery, Kennebunkport, me

gregory Boon gallery, santa Fe, nmCongress square gallery, Portland, menational endowment for the arts, Washington, DCmunson gallery, new Haven, Ct 1982american art Cultural Center, Washington, DC 1978shore gallery, Boston, ma 1970–1973Portal gallery, london, englandartists international association, london, englandBlue Hill library, Blue Hill, mescottish arts Council, edinburgh, scotland 1953

PuBliC anD COrPOrate COlleCtiOnsart in embassies Program, republic of lithuaniaCourthouse gallery Fine art, ellsworth, meHand and Flower Press, london, englandmarine environmental research institute, Blue Hill, merouse Corporation, Pittsbugh, Pascottish arts Council, edinburgh, scotlanduniversity of maine museum of art, Bangor, me

seleCteD BiBliOgraPHyirvine, William. William Irvine: At Home. marshall Wilkes 2018little, Carl. William Irvine: A Painter’s Journey. marshall Wilkes 2014Down East, Kim ridley, april 2010Maine Home + Design, suzanne mcevoy, august 2008Maine Painters, Carl little, editor, september 2006Maine Sunday Telegram, Philip isaacson 2001, Ken greenleaf 1996Maine Times, Feature article, Donna gold 2000Bangor Daily News, Feature article 1999, 2000Art New England, Carl little 2000Portland Press Herald 1992, 1999 Preview 1993The Maine Times 1991The Philadelphia Inquirer 1983ArtNews, ann Jarmusch 1983Maine Life 1979The London Observer 1960

eDuCatiOnglasgow school of art, Da, scotland

Wednesday Wash, 2019, oil on board, 12 x 16 inches

October Moon, 2019, oil on board, 12 x 16 inches

6 court street ellsworth, maine 04605 courthousegallery.com 207 667 6611