Born in Australia, Hayley Lever was well-travelled in Europe before settling in Gloucester for the summers. While in Europe, he was deeply inspired by Vincent Van Gogh, whose influence can be seen in Lever’s energetic style and shimmering silhouettes to transmit the essence of light..
Hayley Lever
Sailboats in the Harbor
Born in Australia, Hayley Lever was well-travelled in Europe before settling in Gloucester for the summers. While in Europe, he was deeply inspired by Vincent Van Gogh, whose influence can be seen in Lever’s energetic style and shimmering silhouettes to transmit the essence of light..
The Dory, 1903
When Hayley Lever arrived on Cape Ann, he found the picturesque harbors and deep nautical traditions familiar to the ancient fishing ports of St. Ives, England and Brittany, France where he had painted and studied extensively. In addition to his accomplishments abroad, he became legendary for his maritime scenes in the U.S. and was commissioned to paint the presidential yacht for President Coolidge, presented at the White House.
Italian Fishing Boats, Gloucester Harbor, 1926
“It’s not what an artist paints—it’s how he paints it. Paintings may be abstract or realistic—it doesn’t matter. The greatest art of all is great enough to cover any method . . . If there’s enthusiasm in you, nothing on earth stops you. Painting is a joyful agony—a labor of love.”
– Hayley Lever
Shoreline (Cambridge Beach, Gloucester)
“Mr. Lever sometimes plays with the moderns and at other times plays with the academicians. That makes him all the more interesting…He acts as a bridge or password between two opposing camps.”
– Forbes Watson, The Arts