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‘A Retrospective View’ to open Sunday at the Tweed
BY JAMI REINHART
STATESMAN STAFF WRITER
CHAB BUSCH / STATESMAN
Bill Shipley explaining “Evergreen
and Sky,” which is a water color
painting of his from the early 1980s.
Inspired by art history, other artists, nature and weather, UMD alumnus Bill Shipley finally gets a chance to be a docent to his own work after years of teaching and showcasing the work of others.
Shipley, a loyal Tweed Museum volunteer and a native to the Duluth region, will hold the opening reception of a compilation of his work on Sept. 23 in the Tweed. Shipley’s showcase, ‘A Retrospective View,’ is a collection of current landscapes and earlier pieces throughout his more than forty year career.
“It is called ‘A Retrospective View’ because it is like one look at variations of all my work,” said Shipley.
After graduating from UMD in 1966, he spent five years at graduate school in Iowa. Shipley then moved to Provincetown, Mass. and eventually ended up in New York, where he was offered a teaching job. Despite the distance, Shipley made the effort every summer to return to Duluth to enjoy his passion; painting.
For 35 years, Shipley devoted his time to teaching in New York during the school year, and painting in Duluth over the summer. He retired in 2000, and was drawn back to Duluth once more, this time to stay.
Shipley still holds an active role in the UMD community, where he volunteers and presents tours for visiting groups and classes in the Tweed.
“It is thrilling to have a class spending time writing about my work,” said Shipley. Between volunteering and docent work, Shipley still paints everyday.
“I still see myself as in the middle of my career,” said Shipley. “I am not ready to be done yet.”
