Barbara Ernst Prey selects Bowdoin College Museum of Art to receive $10,000 from the Down East Magazine 60th anniversary ‘Art of Giving’ Gala

PORTLAND — Barbara Ernst Prey has selected Bowdoin College Museum of Art to receive a minimum of $10,000 raised by Down East Magazine at the Art of Giving Gala from 5:30-9 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14, at the Portland Company, 58 Fore Street.

In celebration of Down East’s 60th anniversary, the magazine has invited Prey, along with other iconic Maine artists, to be on an inside cover of the August anniversary issue. Her vibrant “Nocturne IV” will be featured on the commemorative cover, and the original work will be part of the benefit.

“As a member of the National Council on the Arts, the advisory board to the National Endowment for the Arts appointed by the President of the United States, I am a strong supporter of the arts. I have worked closely with many students from the Bowdoin College Museum of Art and look forward to continued support of their work. As adjunct faculty at Williams College I am thrilled to support a small college museum in this way,” said Prey. Participating alongside Prey will be Alex Katz, William Wegman, Angela Adams, Eric Hopkins, and MECA alumnus Renée Bouchard.

Each admission ticket provides the holder a chance to win an original or limited-edition piece of art by one of the featured artists. Prey’s original painting of “Nocturne IV” is currently on exhibit at her annual exhibit American Contemporary at Blue Water Fine Arts in Port Clyde. The exhibit runs through Sunday, Aug. 31.

One of our country’s most acclaimed contemporary artists, Prey was appointed by the President of the United States to serve on the National Council on the Arts, the 14-member advisory board of the National Endowment for the Arts. Members are elected for their established record of distinguished service or achievement in the arts.

She was invited by The President and First Lady to paint the official White House Christmas card and two of her paintings are in the new Bush Presidential Library and Center. Prey’s paintings are in many of the nation’s most esteemed museums and collections including the White House, the Brooklyn Museum, the Smithsonian National Museum of American Art and the Kennedy Space Center.

Her work is collected by respected celebrities and international dignitaries, including President and Mrs. George W. Bush, Nobel Laureate Dr. and Mrs. James Watson, Ambassador and Mrs. Craig Stapleton, Prince and Princess Johannes Lobkowicz, Orlando Bloom and Tom Hanks.

As an artistic ambassador, her artwork is displayed in more than 100 embassies and consulates worldwide through the U.S. Art in Embassies program. As a NASA artist she joins an elite group of American artists who have documented space history. She was recently featured on the CBS Evening News for her NASA artwork part of a Smithsonian national traveling exhibit.

Prey is the recipient of many honors and awards including the New York State Senate Women of Distinction Award. A graduate of Williams College with a master’s degree from Harvard, she was awarded a Fulbright scholarship and a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation. Prey’s authentic vision, distinct style and keen understanding of the reflection of identity within a larger context, proves her place as a significant American artist furthering the genre of the American-driven landscape.

Tickets to the Gala are $100 per person, and all proceeds raised will go toward the $60,000 committed to six different charitable organizations. A limited number of tickets are available online through downeast.com/artofgiving or artofgiving.brownpapertickets.com.