Vintage Watercolor of Nantucket Railroad, by Doris and Richard Beer, circa 1940

Vintage Watercolor of Nantucket Railroad, by Doris and Richard Beer, circa 1940, a watercolor on paper view of the Nantucket narrow gauge “Dummy Line” railroad on the Easy Street trestles, as it would have appeared circa 1910, with railrodder and shed on the left, a catboat moored close on the right, hand titled on mat lower left, signed in pencil power right; on the reverse is the original glassine paper printed history of the “Dummy Line.”

The painting remains in excellent condition with very bright, crisp colors, and is in a very scarce large size. One of a large collection of Beer watercolors currently in stock.

Measures: 8 in H x 9-5/8 in W
Framed: 15-5/8 in H x 16-1/8 in W

Doris and Richard Beer (1898-1967 and 1893-1959 respectively) produced a well-known series of watercolor miniatures featuring popular Nantucket scenes. Working at their Wharf Head Studio on Old North Wharf for 18 years, the couple worked together on these copyrighted creations, photo-duplicating Doris’s line sketch and Doris and Richard completing the watercolor.

A native New Yorker, Doris studied at the Art Students League, Cooper Union, and with Arthur Dow at Columbia University. She developed a successful career designing theatrical scenery and costumes in New York, Newport, and later for the Straight Wharf Theater on Nantucket. Richard spent the summers of his childhood in ’Sconset. A graduate of Hamilton College, he served for ten years as American consul in posts in Budapest, England, Havana, and Canada. A self taught painter, he also was a talented writer who contributed to the Saturday Evening Post, Yankee Magazine, and Art News.