BELLAS ARTES

This book tracks the career of the artist over six decades, revealing his retained interest in lighthearted subjects while casting them in traditional modes of painting. It celebrates the artist’s regard for the delights of the quintessentially American summer experience, from its sweet ice creams and chilled soda pops to beach games and barbecues, melting a gray winter into a fading memory. The catalogue features paintings from the 1960s through the 2000s of beach scenes, hot dogs, ice creams, beach balls, and bathing suits.

With an in-depth knowledge of periods and styles, Watson is known for his meticulously researched designs. His rooms always make architectural sense and his work is often inspired by collaborations with architects. Watson strives to uncover and recognize the special qualities found in historic structures and furnishings, and to preserve them while moving them forward into the present. Watson’s interiors are noted for their calm and lightness of being, which he achieves through a gracious sense of proportion and a harmonious continuity via subtle repetitions in color, pattern, material, and silhouette.

In the early 1960s a reawakening was happening on Nantucket. Into this world stepped Andy Oates and Bill Euler, one skilled in fine arts and the other in the art of hospitality. In 1968 they opened Nantucket Looms, which specialized in needlepoint, crewelwork, handwoven fabrics, and local artwork, forging their Nantucket style aesthetic. This modest homespun charm held great appeal to such style makers as Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Bunny Mellon, and interior designer Billy Baldwin.