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Artist Biography:
Robert Webber
earned his BFA from the Rochester Institute of Technology
with emphasis in the areas of graphic design, printing and
photojournalism. His custom yacht portraiture is held in
private, corporate and museum collections in the U.S., Canada,
The Caribbean Basin and Europe including The Jean Simard
Collection, Huckins Yachts, Moores Marine, The Martin Sutter
Collection, The Thunderbird Lodge, Rogers Communications
Ltd. and The Brooklin Boat Yard. Additionally the illustrators
work has appeared in both print and digital media that include
Classic Boating, Southern Boating, Boats' U.S. and Yachting.
Regularly showcased during the Miami, Ft Lauderdale, Palm
Beach International Boat Shows as well as appearances at
The Wooden Boat Show and the Maine Boats Homes and Harbors
Show in Rockland, Maine.
While
raising a family and working the corporate sides of marketing
and advertising for firms such as Eastman Kodak and Xerox,
Robert continued pursuing his interest in developing an
approach to creating distinctive portraiture of ships and
yachts. A member of various yacht clubs, Bob came in contact
with owners of contemporary and classic boats and could
not resist photographing and later painting portraits of
those he thought the most interesting. With renderings starting
to stack up, he began giving them to pleasantly surprised
owners. This practice continued until 1993 when Bob introduced
his work at The Miami International Boat Show.
Significantly,
one of Bob's first commissions was that of a magnificent
1930's era yacht, reigniting his interest in the grace and
beauty of boat classics from earlier times. Today Bob's
clientele keep him busily engaged in commemorating not only
classic and contemporary yachts, but vintage aircraft, motorcars
and a variety of other subjects.
Recognized
for elegant understatement, vibrant color and rich detail,
the illustrator's style often is described as documentary.
Many of his subjects turn out to be historically significant
regarding builder, era, ownership history and other factors.
Bob is quick to point out he's not painting seascapes in
the style of the plain-aire artist. Rather, he's creating
portraiture along style characteristics similar to that
of the portrait photographer: the primary focus of the painting
is that of the subject itself.
Meticulous
in researching specific data in connection with various
projects Bob culls through owner and builder records to
insure the accuracy for historic subjects like Dolphin,
Aphrodite and the U.S.S. Sequoia. From Wall Street titans,
oil & coffee barons to enthusiastic hobbyists, Bob's
works are held in private, corporate and museum collections
in the U.S., Canada and Europe.
During
the past three decades Webber's distinctive approach to
yachting art has evolved into a growing variety of categories
including classic motor cars, vintage aircraft and a variety
of other subjects. Related directly to these undertakings
is the illustrator's introduction of The Legacy Collection,
an art print series devoted to surviving watercraft from
America's Golden Age of Yachting. With few exceptions, these
limited editions feature boats owned by proud clients celebrating
their foresight and accomplishment in the preservation of
rare classics surviving from this earlier period.
Robert Webber's studio is located in Kernersville, NC.
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