Berlin artist greeted warmly by friends and family who made trip to Ward Museum

By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(Feb. 1, 2018) A large contingency of Berliners attended painter Patrick Henry’s retrospective opening at the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art in Salisbury, last Friday.

Henry, a Berlin resident, took the occasion to plug several other artists working in the town.

“I hope my show will be a springboard for opening up the capability of having other artists to present their work,” he said. “Berlin has some crazy-great artists – Kirk McBride, my favorite artist and I’ll say it publicly – Lynn Lockhart, Kevin Fitzgerald, Pete Cosby. There are [also] some young artists that I’m meeting – Megan Burak and Reeves Dark.

“We’ve got exceptional artists and it really is a calling and it’s a very difficult calling. But for the Ward to step up here [is wonderful],” Henry added.

He said the Ward Museum “captured the culture of the wildfowl and wildlife,” but added, “We, as a country, are growing and there’s a very open world that’s evolving.”

“What I’ve seen about the opportunity to present my work was to show a Delmarva that was of my parent’s era and the early part of my journey, and to have people to embrace the way they have tonight – I’m deeply humbled, I can barely speak because of what I see before me,” he said.

He thanked staff at the museum, his wife, Velda, and the dozens of family and friends who made the trip for the reception.

“I see people from old Stephen Decatur days, from UMES days, my next-door neighbors, and there’s people that have heard my spiel and know me and may not even know I’m an artist, because it just came so natural to me,” he said. “I was the runt of the family. To have an evening like this come to fruition [is incredible].”

The exhibition will remain on display through May 13. For more information on the works of Patrick Henry, search “Henry Fine Arts Gallery” on Facebook.