Painting the Southern Coast

"Essays by the artist, and Jean Stern and Martha Severens, both experts in Lowcountry art, provide just the background needed to fully appreciate Fraser's singular talent."—Foreword INDIE Reviews

"Since the 1980s, West Fraser has dedicated himself to painting plein air landscapes of the world he knows best: his native Southeast coast. This noteworthy book chronicles his career capturing the atmosphere and charm of a unique part of the American scene."—Michael Zakian, director, Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art, Pepperdine University

"Painting the Southern Coast is a very elegant book. West Fraser's art captures the soft beauty of the Sea Islands. The book contains lyric poetry, learned essays, and a revealing autobiography of the artist's journey home. This book is a Carolina classic."—Lawrence S. Rowland, University of South Carolina at Beaufort

"As a descendant of Carolina rice planters who settled in Midway, Georgia, West Fraser inherited a remarkable sense of tradition and place. It is not by accident that he captures the spirit and soul of the vanishing landscape of the southeastern coast. His bold, elegant paintings, filled with light and color, evoke a type of nature and people that reach far back in time while inviting the viewer to embrace his keen sense of stewardship."—Paul Pressly, historian and director, Ossabaw Island Education Alliance

"A key theme in American art history is the powerful connection that artists often form with the places they live. West Fraser has focused his enormous talent and energy on a fascinating region too often overlooked by the national art world. Like the region itself, his atmospheric artworks vibrate with just the right blend of the beautiful and the ordinary—and with the ongoing push-pull between history and modernity. This handsome overview of his painted achievement is a welcome addition to the literature of American art, and especially contemporary realism."—Peter Trippi, editor-in-chief, Fine Art Connoisseur

"A key theme in American art history is the powerful connection that artists often form with the places they live. West Fraser has focused his enormous talent and energy on a fascinating region too often overlooked by the national art world. Like the region itself, his atmospheric artworks vibrate with just the right blend of the beautiful and the ordinary—and with the ongoing push-pull between history and modernity. This handsome overview of his painted achievement is a welcome addition to the literature of American art, and especially contemporary realism."—Peter Trippi, editor-in-chief, Fine Art Connoisseur

"As a descendant of Carolina rice planters who settled in Midway, Georgia, West Fraser inherited a remarkable sense of tradition and place. It is not by accident that he captures the spirit and soul of the vanishing landscape of the southeastern coast. His bold, elegant paintings, filled with light and color, evoke a type of nature and people that reach far back in time while inviting the viewer to embrace his keen sense of stewardship."—Paul Pressly, historian and director, Ossabaw Island Education Alliance

"Painting the Southern Coast is a very elegant book. West Fraser's art captures the soft beauty of the Sea Islands. The book contains lyric poetry, learned essays, and a revealing autobiography of the artist's journey home. This book is a Carolina classic."—Lawrence S. Rowland, University of South Carolina at Beaufort

"Since the 1980s, West Fraser has dedicated himself to painting plein air landscapes of the world he knows best: his native Southeast coast. This noteworthy book chronicles his career capturing the atmosphere and charm of a unique part of the American scene."—Michael Zakian, director, Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art, Pepperdine University