Venerable Ray Ellis Gallery in downtown Savannah to close doors, move online at end of June

Ray Ellis Gallery, exclusively featuring the eponymous artist’s work, has been a fixture in the downtown art scene for more than 30 years. By the end of June, its doors will be closed forever.

“It’s bittersweet,” his youngest daughter Libby Ellis said, surrounded by countless prints and originals that the gallery will be discounting as they transition to a web-based model. “Seeing it online just isn’t the same.”

Ray Ellis died of complications caused by a stroke at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital on Oct. 4, 2013. But while his final resting place may be in Massachusetts, his connection to the Lowcountry, and Savannah in particular, remains a key part of his legacy.

The list of personal accomplishments attributed to the man that Libby Ellis said “painted everyday” and who would head to his easel “before he would pee” is remarkable. Amongst his greatest achievements include three books that he collaborated with famed journalist Walter Cronkite on, books showcasing the beauty of the American landscape in oils and watercolors; and the three consecutive years from 1998-2000 where he was commissioned by Bill and Hillary Clinton to create their White House Christmas cards.

It was during his work on the Cronkite books that Ellis moved to Savannah, and in 1987 he opened Ray Ellis Gallery. He hired his friend Treesa Germany as director, a position that Germany still holds to this day. It would become the home base for the painter, a place that he returned to year after year until just before his passing.

Entering the space today, the lingering memory of the artist who so beautifully depicted the marshes, beaches, moon rises, and creeks of the region remains.

“I did not know Ray, I never had the chance to meet him, but his presence was so profound in that space,” said Alexandra Chamberlain, a gallerist and curator who worked at the gallery between 2015-2016, her first job in the industry.

“It was a little bit surprising, because it feels like everybody in Savannah knows Ray, everybody in the Lowcountry knows Ray,” she went on to explain of her experience working at the space. “But if you’re coming in from the outside, which is where I was coming from, [we] didn’t know Ray. And so a lot of the people walking into the gallery, you could see this sense of awe, and this excitement of, ‘Oh my gosh, who is this?!’ Because a lot of the people [who visit the gallery] are coming from outside of the Lowcountry.”

For Chamberlain and others like her, Ellis’ artwork has acted like a window into the region we call home, despite moving to Savannah from elsewhere. He seemed capable of seeing what we, as locals, see, likely the reason he decided to stay.

“A lot of his work, I think, depicts different aspects of the Lowcountry than you typically see in the tourist shops,” Chamberlain opined. “They’re of the slower parts of the Lowcountry. It was the places that the tourists weren’t going to. It’s the places the locals go.”

Even though it’s been over a decade since the world lost Ray Ellis, the gallery still has numerous original works that he created, thanks in large part to his incredible artistic output: Libby Ellis puts the total number of paintings and drawings he created over his lifetime in the tens of thousands. That makes the closing of the space, where they’ll be offering 40% off of framed originals beginning May 3, an opportunity for collectors to own a piece of Ellis’ legacy at a discount.

More than the commercial aspect of the closing, however, is the reality that this will be the last chance for folks to stand within the space, absorb the work, and connect with a true artistic icon.

“We’re going to keep the website going…but it will never be appreciated as much as it was with this gallery,” Libby Ellis said with a sigh. “Strangers just come in and take deep breaths.”

“Whenever you walk into a gallery space that is dedicated to just one artist, you have an opportunity to feel that artist,” Chamberlain agreed. “You get the chance to feel Ray.”

Ray Ellis Gallery is located on Ellis Square (no relation) at 205 W. Congress St. Open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and online at rayellis.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Ray Ellis Gallery to close shop after 37 years in downtown Savannah