The Noble Maritime Collection presents an exhibition of photographs by Eric Holmes (1960-2014) in the museum’s library from March 20 through July 26, 2015.

A graduate of the School of Visual Arts, Holmes, a master carpenter who worked for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, was an accomplished photographer. He began taking photographs when he was in high school. Thereafter he always kept his camera within reach.

In capturing the beauty of the City from panorama to minutia, he said “order and balance” and “appreciation of the beauty in our daily lives” were the key components he sought. A battered doorway in SoHo or a line of water towers against the sky would catch his eye, and he would transform such simple, everyday subjects into distinctive photographs.

The thirty photographs in the exhibition include cityscapes Holmes shot in New York City and New Orleans, still life photographs, his series on the Christo and Jeanne-Claude installation, The Gates, and a variety of maritime photographs.

“Eric brought a painterly sense of subject and composition to his work. His interest was in landscape and still life photography, and his stunning images can have an indelible effect on the viewer,” commented Erin Urban, Executive Director of the Noble Maritime Collection. “They graced the museum’s exhibitions and art auctions for ten years.”

Holmes’ contemporaries remember him with respect and admiration. Fine art and commercial photographer Bill Higgins noted, “Eric Holmes’ work is a unique blend of Eugene Atget and Berenice Abbott. He was that good.”

Photographer Michael Falco wrote, “Eric was a photographer’s photographer. He trained his camera on the things in life, the innocuous landscapes that many of us pass by, found beauty in the mundane, and saw these icons as signposts in our lives.”

To see Holmes’ distinctive style, visit his website, www.holmesworks.com