Donn Russell On Sale

Donn Russell is one of Nantucket Island's most acclaimed artists. The painter/printer/sculptor was born in 1929 in Braintree, Mass. of an art-minded family. His talent for drawing and painting was recognized early and while still a teenager, he enrolled in the Boston Museum of Art School on scholarship. Subsequently, he enrolled in Pratt Institute in Brooklyn later studying at The School of Visual Arts, and finally The Art Students League, NYC. At first, Russell majored solely in painting and had early success in winning top awards at the National Academy in New York City and the Hartford Atheneum and Silvermine Arts Center in Connecticut. He became a regular member of the Waverly Gallery stable of artists on Washington Square in Greenwich Village, where he now lived.  Russell also took to displaying his watercolors on the wrought iron fences around the Square during the annual spring and fall outdoor art exhibits, winning honors and, better, cash awards. From that exposure, his work was discovered by the publishing firm of I. B. Fischer and reproduced widely. Failing eyesight and the loss of his life partner Arthur Schaefer (at 101), led Russell to close his Nantucket studio and gallery and retire permanently back to his Greenwich Village quarters in New York City in 2014. No longer able to paint or print, he returned full-time to his theater foundation directing. In 2015, he closed out 50 years of that and set up his philanthropic fund that embraced a broader range of activities to sponsor, on subjects that had interested him all his life: music (especially opera), innovative theater awards, the visual arts (especially painting and printmaking), garden creation, and, of course, as before, developmental theater in all its aspects, now including scenic design and lighting. In the fall and winter of 2015-16, he was the honoree at four major theater and dance galas and had a music performance space named for him at Mannes College of Music in Manhattan. On Nantucket Island, a new visual arts wing of the Artists Association carried his name as well.

Revitalize your interiors — introduce drawings and watercolor paintings to your home to evoke emotions, stir conversation and show off your personality and elevated taste.

Drawing is often considered one of the world’s oldest art forms, with historians pointing to cave art as evidence. In fact, a cave in South Africa, home to Stone Age–era artists, houses artwork that is believed to be around 73,000 years old. It has indeed been argued that cave walls were the canvases for early watercolorists as well as for landscape painters in general, who endeavor to depict and elevate natural scenery through their works of art.

The supplies and methods used by artists and illustrators to create drawings and paintings have evolved over the years, and so too have the intentions. Artists can use their drawing and painting talents to observe and capture a moment, to explore or communicate ideas and convey or evoke emotion. No matter if an artist is working in charcoal or in watercolor and has chosen to portray the marvels of the pure human form, to create realistic depictions of animals in their natural habitats or perhaps to forge a new path that references the long history of abstract visual art, adding a drawing or watercolor painting to your living room or dining room that speaks to you will in turn speak to your guests and conjure stimulating energy in your space.

When you introduce a new piece of art into a common area of your home — a figurative painting by Italian watercolorist Mino Maccari or a colorful still life, such as a detailed botanical work by Deborah Eddy — you’re bringing in textures that can add visual weight to your interior design. You’ll also be creating a much-needed focal point that can instantly guide an eye toward a designated space, particularly in a room that sees a lot of foot traffic.

When you’re shopping for new visual art, whether it’s for your apartment or weekend house, remember to choose something that resonates. It doesn’t always need to make you happy, but you should at least enjoy its energy. On 1stDibs, browse a wide-ranging collection of drawings and watercolor paintings and find out how to arrange wall art when you’re ready to hang your new works.