Robert Stark Jr. (American 1933-2014) Oil on Canvas “Red Sail Off the Point”, depicting a catboat with red sail on calm Nantucket waters, luminous sky overhead, signed lower left R. Stark, in molded gilt frame

12 in. x 24 in. Framed 16 ½ in. x 28 ½ in.

Robert Stark Jr.’s legacy is a modernist approach to American Luminist paintings. Working principally in oil on canvas or panel, he is best known for coastal scenes that feature an iconic, red sailed catboat. Stark’s work is characterized by the use of aerial perspective and a concealment of visible brushstrokes. Through effective use of of light in landscape, his paintings evoke tranquility and calm, inferring poetic intimacy.

Stark attended Nantucket schools and after graduating from high school, served in the US Navy during the Korean War.  He was the founder and director of Nantucket’s oldest gallery, the Stark Gallery on Old North Wharf. 

His work has been presented in fine galleries in New England and NYC, and is represented in numerous private and corporate collections throughout the US, Canada, Ireland, Great Britain, Germany, France and China. ~ Carolyn Walsh