Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center

The Banquet Years

Charlie Hewitt met Kay Daugherty when he was just a high school student through a friendship he’d formed with Kay’s son, Tom. Charlie admired the art work Kay had around the house, in particular a poster of Picasso’s Night Fishing in Antibes.  Thus began their conversations about art that continued throughout her life time.  A bond developed between the two and Kay became not only a collector of Charlie’s art, but also a promoter and supporter of Charlie’s achievements both in St. Mary’s County and New York City, of which there have been many. 

Kay was passionate about the arts and particularly loved to support and promote the local artists of Southern Maryland.  Her home was adorned with wood sculptures, metal sculptures, oils, watercolors, ceramics, prints and tapestries all created by wonderfully talented local artists.  Because she always saw the importance of providing venues for local artists to show their work, it seemed only fitting that she should have her own space where local artists will forever have a platform from which to display their work, be recognized, and appreciated.  Because Charlie Hewitt’s compositions were the most prevalent in her home, and because he was so loved by Kay, he was asked by the family to honor her by being the first show in her gallery. 

Charlie has chosen his most recent prints, oils, sculptures and ceramics to be displayed. 

Charlie Hewitt

Charlie Hewitt, painter, sculptor and printmaker, was born in Lewiston Maine in 1946. Most of his imagery was formed from his growing up in the mill-working communities in the area. Stylistically rooted in expressionism and surrealism, Hewitt’s art is both playful and serious, a quality he shares with artists such as Alexander Calder, Joan Miro, Paul Klee and his mentor Philip Guston. Essential to Hewitt’s creative process are the small, intimate works on paper from his ongoing Illuminations series. Made from collaged prints and drawings enhanced with pigment, ink, and in some cases, stitching, they are the seminal drawings from which the artist’s shapes and forms are mined and subsequently manifested into paintings and sculpture.

In addition to Charlie Hewitt’s solo exhibitions at Jim Kempner Fine Art, other solo exhibitions include his current show at the Greenwich Arts Council through May 12; a recent show at the Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Norwalk, CT.; a retrospective of his paintings, works on paper and sculpture at the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland, ME; and a retrospective of his prints at the Bates College Museum in Lewiston, ME. Hewitt’s work is represented in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY; Museum of Modern Art, NY; Whitney Museum of American Art, NY; New York Public Library, NY; Brooklyn Museum, NY; Library of Congress, Washington, DC; Portland Museum of Art, ME; and many others. The artist lives and works in Portland, Maine.

Kay Daugherty, 1921-2006

Kay Daugherty loved art in all its forms. Life expressed through dance, music, literature, poetry, theater, paintings and sculpture all brought her no end of pleasure. She loved to discuss both classic and modern literature and poetry with her friends. She also had a flair for writing and enjoyed any opportunity to pen anything from a campaign jingle to a Church of Ascension "Fun Night" play. However, a particular passion of hers was that of the fine arts of painting and sculpture. She had a vast library of art books and attended art history classes at St. Mary’s College. Additionally, she and several members of the St. Mary’s Arts Forum (Susan Fletcher, Jane Rowe and Sylvia Briscoe) formed their own art class in the 1970s. They would meet once a week at one of their homes to talk about artists of their choosing and learn from each other. Kay also dabbled a bit in painting for her own enjoyment, but recognizing it was not her bailiwick, deferred to the many talented artists here in Southern Maryland. She did, however, paint three large totem poles which were installed along her driveway in Town Creek around 1960 which were wonderful. 

During the 1970s, as a member of the St. Mary’s Creative Arts Forum and also a founding member of the St. Mary’s Arts Alliance at St. Mary’s College, she came to know and become friends with many of the local artists. It was then that she she began collecting their work. Some she would purchase and give as gifts to family members, but most she kept for herself. Her home was adorned from top to bottom with paintings, prints, etchings, stained glass panels, collages, weavings and sculptures. All of these shared space with her collection of antique furniture and unique artifacts. She had an artistic eye and knew just how to decorate with a balance of color and shape. Wooden tools from the turn of the century, for example, would find a harmonious home aside an abstract painting hung above an antique table. It all worked in Kay’s home gallery. The home she made was definitely eclectic in decor yet ever so welcoming. Kay’s husband Jack often said that their home was "The House of Love", and indeed it was. 

Not being one to ever shine the spotlight on herself, Kay would rather have the attention of this piece be on the those artists whose work she admired and purchased rather than on herself. Therefore, it is a pleasure to fulfill what would surely be her wish. Listed alphabetically, they are:  

George Ackerman           Nancy Collery            Charlie Hewitt           Joe Rizza

Bud Adams                    Carolyn Egeli              Earl Hofmann            Joe Ross

Peg Adams                    Cedric Egeli                Gordan Jansen         Jane Rowe

Bob Beauchamp             Joanette Egeli           Jan Johnson             Tom Rowe

Nadine Beauchamp         Peter Egeli               Sue Jones                 Karen O. Russell

Scott Broadfoot              Joan Ellis                   Pat Lewis                  Lisa Scheer

Bette Bumgarner            John Fletcher            Connie Petty             Karen Vaughn

Elizabeth Bygler             Ed Grout                    Peter Rivers             Maggie Venn