Page 51 - CA 2019 Final(3)

Artist Russell D’Alessio painting in his studio.

A view of the gallery
D’Alessio Gallery celebrates

30 years in Bar Harbo

feature by Kate Shaffer, phot s courtesy of Ru sell & Linda D’Ale sio

When Russ D’Alessio was growing up in New Jersey, he couldn’t decide whether he wanted to be a rock and roll drummer, or an
artist. That was until his high school painting teacher brought him to see the Picasso retrospective at the MOMA (Museum of Modern
Art). At the time, the Spanish artist was in his 80s, and Russ remembers wanting to reach that age with a similarly substantial body of
work.

“It was at that moment that I chose art,” he said.
Inspired by the beauty of Maine, and the energy of the Vacationland summers, Russ and his wife Linda moved to a bustling Bar
Harbor in 1974. By the 1980s, the D’Alessios had a thriving graphics and apparel business, for which Russ was gaining notoriety.
In 1989, having proved to have an aptitude for retail, they opened D’Alessio Gallery.

Russ believes that you don’t need to live in a city center to have commercial success as an artist. Bar Harbor is host to a varied
and international crowd in the summertime, and D’Alessio finds that he is inspired by the energy these visitors bring in to the town.
His painting style is vibrant, and translates a similar energy to the canvas, creating joyful and accessible works of art that make them
collectible nationally and internationally.

“Russ is the ultimate romantic,” Linda said about her husband of more than 50 years. “His paintings have a sensitivity and in-
sight. He paints with stories in his head, and they come out in paint instead of words.”

This relatable, store-like quality of D’Alessio’s work, along with Linda’s aptitude for business, community, and the ability “to
make things happen,” has helped make the gallery a Bar Harbor mainstay. This summer, it will celebrate 30 successful years of
showcasing Russ’s art.
continued on the next page
49