One of the best traditions on the Outer Banks is the annual Frank Stick Show. The 45th Annual version of it just went on display last week at the Dare Arts Gallery in downtown Manteo.
It’s an amazing show. Because entries are not judged for inclusion, a lot of new Outer Banks artists get a first chance to show their work.
But don’t think this is some sort of charity event of the barely talented. The Frank Stick Memorial Art Show brings out some of the very finest local artists to display their work.
The range of art on display is amazing. There is some remarkable photography. And the paintings are stunning. A work from James Melvin really stands out—his Community Checkers is a bit of a different style for him. A little more toward impressionism and different from much of his work which is so realistic that it almost seems like a photo at times.
There is also some remarkable stoneware and jewelry on display as well.
It is not only the range of works that makes the Frank Stick Show so remarkable. It is that the level of excellence has been maintained for so many years—a fitting tribute to one of the foremost American illustrators from about 1910-1925 when he moved to the Outer Banks.
Frank Stick, in addition to being a stunningly talented artist, was also a visionary and it was his belief that the Outer Banks would be a great location for a national seashore that led directly to the creation of Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
With his son David, the author of Graveyard of the Atlantic among other books, he created the town of Southern Shores.
The Frank Stick Memorial Art Show will be on display through February 25.
There is always something happening on the Outer Banks. Stop by and stay with at Brindley Beach Vacations and see what it’s all about.