Renowned Local Artist Celebrates 25 Years of Seacoast Inspiration

PORTSMOUTH, NH - If you’ve ever seen one of artist Don Gorvett’s iconic works, you may have wondered just how his woodcuts of Portsmouth architecture and maritime landscapes scenes are made.

Next month, according to a press statement, the Seacoast community will have a chance to view the stages of the elaborate printmaking process at the Portsmouth Public Library.

In an exhibit titled Don Gorvett/25 Years in Portsmouth: A Chronology of Prints and Drawings, from Feb. 1 to March 8, 2016, the artist will showcase many rare prints, along with wood blocks, color states, and drawings usually hidden within his flat files.

Gorvett has worked seasonally in the seacoast since 1968 and moved to Ogunquit in 1991. He turned his focus to Portsmouth and her waterfront environs, which have inspired an impressive body of work. Gorvett creates work that captures both the precise detail of iconic sea going vessels and architecture surrounded by evocative atmospheres. “To me, Portsmouth is representative of early American or, if not, a European city that continue to inspire throughout time.” The result is brilliant color and the warmth that can only emerge from a love of place.

Gorvett’s Piscataqua Fine Arts Gallery & Studio is in downtown Portsmouth and his Ogunquit Gallery & Studio is in Perkins Cove. He is a graduate of the School of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and a past board member of the Boston Printmakers. His works grace the collections of the Addison Gallery of American Art, Boston Athenaeum, the Museum of Fine Art in Boston, the Cape Ann Museum, the Currier Museum of Art, the Farnsworth Art Museum, the Ogunquit Museum of American Art, Peabody Essex Museum, the Portland Museum of Art, the Worcester Art Museum, and numerous corporate and private collections.

Admirers of Gorvett’s work may attend a reception at the library at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 3, to meet the artist and hear more about his methods.

The Portsmouth Public Library works to serve the informational, educational and entertainment needs of the community. The library offers free materials, computers, WiFi, classes, exhibits, online resources, events and more. PPL was established in 1881. Find out more online at cityofportsmouth.com/library. Find events and news at facebook.com/pplnh.