For the fourth year, Peninsula Gallery brings the larger-than-life impressionist paintings of prolific artist Dane Tilghman to Lewes, giving admirers the opportunity to bask in the grandeur of his colorful and soulful paintings. 

 

     Dane Tilghman grew up in West Chester, PA, and has been a professional artist for nearly 40 years. His family was originally from Tilghman Island in the Chesapeake Bay before migrating to Dover and finally settling in Pennsylvania. Dane is a premier painter of African American culture, whose work is in numerous universities and major sports arenas, in addition to being collected by celebrities like Nelson Mandela. The ethos of his work is to bring awareness and attention to the lost history of African American communities throughout the US.

 

     Dane embraces an extravagant style and color palette to make Black life and culture from the early 20th Century the centerpiece of artistic admiration. He isn’t confined by artistic rules or forms, opting to combine qualities of cubism, impressionism, and realism with palette knife work and various mediums to create textural pieces that come to life on the canvases. 

 

     He is inspired by historic black and white images, transforming a once static and unidimensional photograph into a vibrant and profound painting. For this show, Dane has painted a variety of Black tradesmen, from musicians to farmers, oyster fishermen and field workers, while also capturing the sincerity and simplicity of family, friendship, and solitude. His powerful, yet poignant, works remind viewers of the importance of caring for people of all colors and creeds, not only in history but in the present and the future.

 

     Dane says, “Black people played just as much a role in the lifeblood of Delaware as anywhere else. The working-class individuals depicted in my work, whether they be working on the sea or a farm, were family-oriented; they had a purpose and were here to make a mark — even if that was just to make sure there was food on their table. But I believe everybody has a purpose. These individuals probably didn’t think they would be immortalized on canvas, but they lived and served history just like anyone else.”​