Rez Williams (1942-2024)
Rez Williams was an acclaimed Vineyard artist who was nationally recognized for his bold colored, hulking commercial fishing vessels and rugged, minimalist landscape paintings.
In the 1990’s, Thomas Hoving, the Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, discovered his paintings hanging in a public space in Oak Bluffs, and later described him as “one of the best American artists alive today.”
Widely considered as passionately an artist as a conservationist, his dedication to both are fondly remembered. He passed away on the island in February 2024 at the age of 81. A Gallery has been representing Rez Williams’s artworks since 2012.
Photo Credit: Gary Mirando The Fishing Fleet
As enthusiastic chronicler of New Bedford's iconic fishing boats for almost thirty years, Williams was initially attracted to the striking hulls and 'otherness' of the fleet from the perspective of his own nineteen-foot sloop, which he called a 'research vessel'. He described seeing the vessels as "hot rods" and from his perspective on the waterline portrayed them figuratively, sometimes at rest, at other times underway on mercurial and abstract seas under 'jumpy' skies.
Alaska, Dockside (2011) • oil on canvas • 52 x 70 inches • $19,500
Ana Palmyra, Before Scuttling (2002) • oil on canvas • 54 x 72 inches • $19,500
Concordia, New Bedford (2016) • oil on canvas • 40 x 54 inches • $15,000
Donny C. (2000) • oil on canvas • 54 x 72 inches • $20,000
Incident in Wood's Hole (2015) • oil on canvas • 42 x 54 inches • $15,000
Janis Julie (1999) • oil on canvas • 52 x 72 inches • $19,000
Michigan, New Bedford (2010) • oil on canvas • 54 x 72 inches • $20,000
Luso American, in Fairhaven (2008) • oil on canvas • 46 x 72 inches • $19,500
Orion, New Bedford, Dockide (2004) • oil on canvas • 46 x 68 inches • $18,000
Orion, South of Pasque (2003) • oil on canvas • 54 x 72 inches • $20,000
Sao Jacinto, Bow (2008) • oil on Canvas • 38 x 50 inches • $13,500
Pursuit, New Bedford (2003) • oil on canvas • 43 x 54 inches • $15,000
Submarine, Hudson River, NYC (2015) • oil on canvas • 42 x 54 inches • $15,000
Sunshine, Dockside (2012) • oil on canvas • 42 x 54 inches • $15,000
My Way, Refit (2010/2013) •. oil on canvas • 42 x 54 inches • $15,000
T. Luis, Dark Sky, New Bedford (2010) • oil on canvas • 54 x 72 inches • $20,000
Stars of the Sea, New Bedford (2011) • oil on canvas • 48 x 64 inches • $17,500
Monhegan Island, Maine : Views From Another Island
"Monhegan Island is noted for its long association as a subject and destination for landscape artists. This is because of its spectacular rugged rock-bound scenery. The light has a diffused, milky quality due to its distance offshore. As a subject, I focused mostly on the coastal forest - a chaotic tangle of white bleached dead pine trees and twisted understory with surprising distant glimpses of the sea. In the thick of it, this is a landscape shaped by the most elemental forces of wind and time. Best of all, it carries no predetermined aesthetic baggage."
This series was influenced by the work of Maine artists Alex Katz and Neil Welliver, whom the artist had a long-time admiration for.
Beaver Cuts #1, Maine (2017) • oil on canvas • 52 x 66 inches • $18,000
Saw Cuts, Maine (2017) • oil on canvas • 52 x 66 inches • $18,000
Forest Floor, Monhegan, Maine (2018-19) • oil on canvas • 52 x 66 inches • $18,000
Maine, Costal View #4 (2016) • oil on canvas • 38 x 48 inches • $12,000
Morning Light, Monhegan, Maine (2018-19). • oil on canvas • 52 x 66 inches • $18,000
Rock and Shadows, Monhegan, Maine (2018). • oil on canvas • 52 x 66 inches • $18,000
Single Tree, Monhegan, Maine (2018). • oil on canvas • 52 x 70 inches • $18,000
Woodland Foot Path, Monhegan, Maine (2018) • oil on canvas • 44 x 54 inches • $13,000
The Irish Paintings
During a six-week fellowship at the Ballinglen Arts Foundation, Ballycastle, County Mayo, in Ireland, starting March 2014, Williams drew inspiration from the open countryside, rugged coatline, back streets and back yards, and a 'powerful sky' overhead, primarily a farming community.
He focused mainly on subject matter within walking distances, looking for material that was also for the most part fairly pedestrian in character. He completed thirteen paintings, one of which was selected by the Foundation to be added to their collection in Ballycastle.
Tarppy Golden's House, Ballycastle (2014-15) • oil on canvas • 42 x 52 inches • $12,500
Back Street, Ballycastle (2014-15) • oil on canvas • 40 x 50 inches • $12,000
Roadside Near Lackan Strand, Ireland (2014-15) • oil on canvas • 38 x 54 inches • $15,000
Basil Blackshaw's, Ballycastle (2014-15) • oil on canvas • 20 x 14 inches • $4,500
View West, Ballinglen Arts Center (2014-15) • oil on canvas • 40 x 50 inches • $12,000
View West, Main Street, Ballycastle (2014-15) • oil on canvas • 40 x 42 inches • $11,000
Additional Works
Barn, Port Clyde, Maine (1993/2000) • oil on canvas • 40 x 54 inches • $14,000
Quansoo Beach, Study (1995) • oil on canvas •. 22 x 30 inches • $5,500