Artists’ Guild Contributing to Prince Street Renewal



Ten numbered prints of an oil nocturne by Maryland artist Debra Howard will be auctioned online by Tappahannock Artists’ Guild to benefit the rebuilding of fire-damaged Prince Street. Photo courtesy of Hullihen Moore

Ten numbered prints of an oil nocturne by Maryland artist Debra Howard will be auctioned online by Tappahannock Artists’ Guild to benefit the rebuilding of fire-damaged Prince Street. Photo courtesy of Hullihen Moore

Artistic renderings of Prince Street before the July 15 fire have become particularly treasured during the ongoing clean-up of the ravaged block. A favorite oil painting of the damaged historic district created during the first TIDELANDS Plein Air conference in 2019 is featured in the newest local fundraiser. Tappahannock Artists Guild, with permission from the artist Debra Howard, has organized ten limited edition prints of the painting, for an online auction that began September 29.

For decades visitors and locals have enjoyed the green striped awnings, wide angled windows, and brick detailing of the western side of the 200 block of Prince Street. Since the fire’s destruction of the north-east end of the block, the area has been painful to see, strewn with broken bricks, mangled metal, and blackened wood. Thousands of donors from the Middle Peninsula, Northern Neck and beyond have contributed funds to help in the rebuilding.

Howard’s nocturne painting, painted at night three years ago during the fourday outdoor painting event, was posted online at the TAG site as a way to share grief over the losses downtown. The image generated an overwhelming response. The owner of the original painting was enthusiastic about the idea of sharing it to help preserve the memory of the lost buildings and businesses.

TAG commissioned the prints through award-winning photographer The Honorable Hullihen Williams Moore, who donated the materials, time, and his expertise to create the ten numbered prints. Art center visitors will remember Moore’s photographs from his series on Menokin, displayed at the Prince Street gallery several years ago. His Shenandoah National Park photographs are memorialized in a 2003 book available online from University of Virginia Press.

Howard divides her time between the Eastern Shore in Maryland and northern Michigan. After 27 years of painting from her sailboat home, she participates and judges in national plein air competitions. Her artwork has won numerous awards, including First Place in the Savannah, Georgia Plein Air in 2019.

The art center’s website at tapparts.org details the process of registering online and making bids during the twice-weekly online auction periods through November 2. Once these ten fine art prints have found homes, no more prints will be made. All proceeds will be donated to the clean-up and rebuilding of Prince Street by the Town of Tappahannock and the Tappahannock Main Street Organization.

In a second project to raise rebuilding funds, TAG artist Frank Rixey is donating the sales proceeds from prints of his watercolor painting of the historic district with its signature green striped awnings.

The watercolor prints are available in two sizes at the Prince Street gallery during its regular hours, Thursday through Saturday from noon until 4 p.m.

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