NANTUCKET ARTIST IN RESIDENCE GREG SOBRAN JOINS PALM BEACH PROGRAM
Century House's Artist in Residence Continues in the Winter
(Nantucket, MA) – February 24, 2011 Century House, the oldest continuously operating inn on Nantucket Island, continues its Winter Artist in Residence Program this week with the arrival of Greg Sobran, a self described “free spirited” artist and a Program participant in the mid-1990’s. Innkeeper Gerry Connick hosts the participants in the private “artist studio” located in Palm Beach, Florida where he resides for those few months when the inn is closed off and being readied for the new Century Season.
Hailing from Ann Arbor Michigan, the visits to Nantucket and Palm Beach complement Greg’s thirst for travel (Europe, South Florida and the Rocky Mountains) and new vistas – especially buildings and landscapes. His great eye for detail led him to expand his work with portraits in the style of John Singer Sargent. In addition to Sargent, painters that have inspired him along the way include Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper and the French impressionists.
The Palm Beach studio, located just a few blocks from the Atlantic Ocean, Intracoastal and prestigious Worth Avenue, affords the visiting artists an array of enticing vistas to capture on one’s tropical palette. As the Southern light has many of the characteristics of the exquisite, ever changing light of Nantucket; the Palm Beach opportunity provides the Program participants with a complementary portfolio to the artists’ existing body of work. This is especially true for Sobran, whose vibrate palette cascades with brilliant, pure color (view a sampling of his work – including some of his recent Palm Beach work-at www.sobrangalleries.com.
Innkeeper Gerry expanded the Program to include the Winter Stays as he noted that “the Vias off of Worth Avenue, yachts docked at the Palm Beach Basin just down the street, sunrises and sunsets, majestic palm trees, brilliant flora, world famous gardens and architecture capture the imagination … leading to the creation of paintings of charm and emotion that introduce a warmth to the Winter sky”. Gerry is most interested in the color changes and the ways in which they affect ‘en plein air’ painting.”
The Century House ties to the artist community have its roots from the days in 1833 when the Whaling Captain Robert Calder acquired the land and built the property known as the Century House. From this lineage came the renown descendant, sculptor and artist, Alexander Calder, most famous for inventing the mobile art form.
Innkeepers Gerry and JeanE began the Century House Artist in Residence Program in the 1980’s to enrich their lives through the eyes of the talented artists who long to paint on Nantucket Island. Over the years, inn guests have enjoyed not only the opportunity to meet the artists during their stay at Century House but also view their works hanging at the inn.
If you would like more information about this topic or to schedule an interview with innkeepers JeanE and Gerry, call 508.228.0530 or email centurybnb@aol.com. More details on participating artists will be posted on http://www.centuryhouse.com
Century House dates back to the Cliff Road land purchase in 1833. According to research performed by Edouard A. Stackpole, renowned Nantucket historian and former director of the Peter Foulger Museum, the Century House was built by a member of an old Nantucket family of Scottish roots, Captain Robert Calder. It is said that Capt. Calder chose this site because of the privacy, the ocean breezes, the views, and the genuine serenity the location provided in the 1840’s and still exhibits today. According to Mr. Stackpole, the Century House is the oldest continuously operating guesthouse on Nantucket Island.
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