John Mecray

John Mecray - 1937-2017 

John grew up in Cape May, New Jersey, a block away from the Atlantic Ocean. Upon completing high school, he was accepted at the Philadelphia College of Art where he majored in illustration and painting. He began a career as a freelance illustrator even before graduating in 1961. The next year he was asked back to his alma mater to teach a weekly drawing class.

In 1976, after his third offshore sailing trip to the Virgin Islands, John Mecray gave up his successful Philadelphia based illustration career and moved to Newport, Rhode Island to fully devote himself to marine painting. Offshore yacht deliveries between New England, Bermuda and the Caribbean have given the artist a personal knowledge of the effects of wind, sea and light on a variety of sailing vessels. His masterful art, prints and posters of classic racing yachts clearly convey their power and grace. Experience, perspective and love-of- subject set his work apart in an art field rich in tradition.