Robert Eric Moore (1927-2006)

"Robert Eric Moore," obituary, from Legacy.com.

Robert Eric Moore, 78, a nationally known artist, died Tuesday, October 10, 2006 of cancer in Newburyport, Mass. Mr. Moore was an elected member of the National Academy of Design in New York and a member of both the American Watercolor Society and National Watercolor Society.

His paintings were exhibited at numerous museums and galleries including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the Portland Museum of Art in Maine, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, The De Cordova Museum in Lincoln, Mass. and the Copley Society in Boston, Mass. He is best known for his paintings of Maine's sea and landscapes. For many years one of his paintings was reproduced in the World Book Encyclopedia under "Maine".

Later this year, Moore will be included in the forthcoming book Paintings of Maine, by Carl Little. A July 2000 profile in Down East magazine discussed Moore's life-long love of Maine as his subject matter: "...he has spent most of his life pondering its beauty and power and capturing it with his brush. Along the way he has become one of the most successful Maine artists of the last half-century."

Mr. Moore continued to paint until recently. He exhibited widely and received many awards including first place in the California Watercolor Society's 2003 exhibition for his painting, Offshore Island and Gulls.

Mr. Moore was born Oct. 13, 1927. He attended a one-room schoolhouse along with his twin brother, Richard B. Moore, an artist who now lives in Sedona, Ariz. When World War II came, he joined the Navy, and at the end of the war "got a ship", as he liked to say. He sailed to South America and other places aboard the destroyer U.S.S. Gyatt from 1945 to 1947.

Mr. Moore credited his years in the Navy with deepening his love of the sea. In 1950, Robert met Meg Doherty. They soon fell in love and later eloped. Both attended art school in Boston. Together, they bought and restored a farmhouse on Cider Hill in York, Maine. They lived there 46 years, raising three children, before moving to Waldoboro, Maine in 1998. Meg predeceased Robert in 2004.

He credited his grandmother, a still-life painter, with inspiring him towards a career in art. He loved the outdoors, hiking, fishing and hunting with his father and brother in his younger years, and with his daughters and son in later years. These outings led to new ideas for other paintings, like a series of lichen paintings after a fly-fishing trip to a pond full of brook trout, or paintings of beaver cuttings from a hike along the Ducktrap River.

Robert is survived by his twin brother Richard, two daughters, Deirdre Robinson of Kennebunk, Maine and Bridget Moore of New York City; a son, Michael Moore of Newburyport, Mass; five grandchildren, Ally, Brendan and Katherine Kotowski of New York City, Colleen and Molly Moore of Newburyport, Mass.

Moore lived his life doing what he loved. "There are so many things to paint," he told Down East. "I have no patience when I hear people complain about how many hours they have before they can stop working and go home. Every morning the sun comes up, and every morning I never want it to end."

A Memorial Gathering will be held Sunday, Oct. 15, 2006 at 1 p.m. in the Lucas & Eaton Funeral, 91 Long Sands Rd, York, MAINE.