Artist:  Van Crews, Jr.

Little is known of this very talented Cape Cod artist who painted between 1950 and 1990. He and his wife lived on the Bass River in West Dennis, MA. We know that he painted in Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, and on Cape Cod. Five of his intricate and sometimes haunting paintings will be exhibited in our gallery website in April, 2012. They are previewed below.

These paintings are from the private collections of two individuals who knew and socialized with Van Crews Jr. and his wife in their scenic house on the banks of the Bass River in West Dennis on Cape Cod in the period from 1950-1990. Of the five paintings, Van Crews chose different mediums with one watercolor, one oil on stretched canvas, and three oils on masonite. The actual titles and locations were noted by the artist on a couple of his paintings.

In 1989, the University of Maryland established the Department of Art Van Crews, Jr. Scholarship. His purpose was to “Support an annual scholarship for an outstanding student enrolled in the Department of Art in the College of Arts and Humanities concentrating in the subject area of design.” Similar scholarships in his name for aspiring artists were also founded at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of South Dakota.

Speaking with the owners of the five paintings by Van Crews, Jr., they have vivid memories of this intriguing, shy and talented artist. Van Crews, Jr. lived a tormented inner life and this angst overwhelmed him at one point resulting in an attempt to take his life. His life was saved by the Bass River Harbor Master who was a friend and fellow artist. After this suicide attempt, Mr. Crews recalled all of his works from area art galleries. He made a personal decision to do no more art works and to retire from painting.  He quickly notified all of his closest friends and sold many of his works to the people most dear to him, those to whom he entrusted with his most prized possessions, his art works. One of the owners of the paintings in our gallery recalls having a friend at her home that recognized Van Crews’ artwork hanging on her wall. She said that this same painting was displayed in a high end Nantucket Island art gallery two years prior, selling for $10,000, and further that she was very surprised to see such a valuable painting displayed in a private home rather than a museum.

It is both exciting and emotionally revealing to discover an artist of this caliber, insight. and excellence. His works are sensitively unique and extremely in depth, displaying beautiful detail and miniscule strokes, and demonstrating an awe inspiring use of light and shadow. Some of the artwork displayed here leaves you wondering what the artist was thinking and attempting to bring forth, yet one is continuously and always amazed by his artistic execution. While Van Crews Jr. may have many of his paintings in private collections, there are few sightings of his artwork and life history on the web or in any museums, adding to this contemporary artist’s allure and mystery.