Speakeasy Series Presents Ray Ellis and Allen Whiting

Artists and friends Ray Ellis and will begin the summer Speakeasy Series this evening at 5:30 pm at the in West Tisbury. The Granary Gallery and , in collaboration with the West Tisbury Library Foundation, Inc., are presenting this series of intimate evenings with noted authors and artists to benefit the library’s capital campaign. The Speakeasies offer an unparalleled chance to mingle and speak with an author or artist in person.

Ray Ellis has been painting for over 70 years on all seven continents. In 2004, the Telfair Museum of Art in Savannah, Georgia honored the depth and breadth of Ellis’ career with a major traveling exhibition titled Ray Ellis in Retrospect: A Painter’s Journey. He was subsequently awarded the Salmagundi Club’s Medal of Honor for lifetime achievement in the Arts.

Ellis is represented in fine galleries across the country. His works have been exhibited in U.S. Embassies in Geneva, Vienna and London. Ray Ellis paintings are in the permanent collections of the White House, museums across the country and private collections worldwide. Ellis maintains a home and studio on Martha’s Vineyard.

Allen Whiting was born in 1946 on Martha’s Vineyard, and grew up in the landscape he loves to paint. He has a degree in studio painting from Windham College in Vermont. He lives and works in West Tisbury on the family sheep farm partly shaded by stately old elm and maple trees. He also works family land that partly overlooks the Atlantic Ocean in Chilmark. Both have been in his family for generations. The farm continues today as a tradition in stewardship, overseen by Allen and his extended family.

On the island of Martha’s Vineyard Allen executes many of his oils, setting up his easel in the open air, working on small wood panels as well as canvases of varying size. He also paints almost everywhere he travels.  For the last decade he has painted the island of Bequia in the Grenadines. Allen, his wife Lynne, and their daughter Bea display the work in the in their home in West Tisbury. His landscapes are in many private and public collections around the world.

All summer Speakeasy events begin at 5:30 pm at the Granary Gallery, Old County Road, West Tisbury. Hors d’oeuvres and light refreshments will be provided by State Road Restaurant. The price per ticket is $75 per person or $200 for the series. Space is limited, so early booking is advised. For more information, or to make reservations, call Carol Brush: 508-693-3489. Further information is available at wtlibraryfoundation.org.

The Speakeasy Series will continue on Wednesday, August 8^th, with Jill Iscol, author of Hearts on Fire, Twelve Stories of Today’s Visionaries. Then, on Tuesday, September 18^th, the series presents award-winning author and journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault.

 Editor’s Note: This information comes from a Press Release