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About
Noted for his intense study and mastery of the art of portraiture in the classic tradition of the 17th Century Dutch and Flemish masters, Bill Ewing brings the same techniques and effects to whatever he paints, regardless of the chosen subject for a painting; all are really portraits. To paraphrase an old saw, what you get when you view a Ewing painting is much more than what you merely see. You also share in the artist’s ‘experience’ of the subject and that of the subject itself taken directly from life.
Although solidly grounded academically – BFA, University of Tennessee, 1969, MFA, University of Idaho, 1971 – including post-graduate study under Arthur DeCosta at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, Ewing’s art contains much of himself and of the results of his years of independent studies in America and abroad. This study and experience over a period of years distinguish his work from others in what is loosely called the Chadds Ford School, most personified on the universally recognized art of Pyle, Schoonover and the Wyeths.
DeCosta, previous chairman of the painting and drawing department at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, terms Ewing “a very strongly talented, meticulous, and adventuresome painter whose brilliance and bravura transcends the ‘school’ concept. His approach to art permits a kind of fluency and handling of translucency of color that his personal inner vision demands. He is one of the best technicians I’ve ever known who is going about his work with intelligence and tremendous dedication”.
Ewing’s paintings have been exhibited in many galleries and juried art shows in the Middle Atlantic States and on the Continent. He is the recipient of many awards and has had numerous portraits commissioned by private collectors and leading business and cultural organizations throughout the United States and Europe, many on the recommendation of such distinguished fellow artists as Andrew Wyeth, with whom he co-exhibited.
The definitive portrait of John B. Kelly Jr., president of the International Olympics Committee, is only one of Ewing’s portraits of notable people. Others include race car driver Mark Donohue’s family, former president of the Union League Harold Meyers, Mellon bank president Donald Cielevich, and the honorable Francis Van Dusen of the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. Bill has painted the former Governor of Pennsylvania and U.S. Attorney General Richard L. Thornburgh, Conrail Chairman and CEO James Hagen, Congressman Bob Walker, and Federal Judge Joseph Longabardi. Racehorse paintings have also long been a delightful subject for Ewing, resulting in portraits of nationally syndicated top stud Nero and the controversial Temijun.
Exhibitions with Somerville Manning Gallery
2014 Man’s Best Friend – The Art of the Dog, Somerville Manning Gallery, Greenville, DE
Selected Public Collections
Brandywine River Museum, Chadds Ford, PA
Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, DE
Education
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN
University of Idaho, Moscow, ID
Studied under Arthur DeCosta at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
