Local Artist At The Petersburgh Library

Matthew McKeeby, a resident of Berlin and a teacher of English and theatre at Averill Park High School, is a self-taught painter in the limner tradition. Limner is not a common term. A limner in the simplest sense is a “painter,” but in the 19th century connotation it represented a semi-itinerant painter, usually of portraits.
McKeeby is not a traveling painter. Some of his art is currently being shown at the Petersburgh Public Library and will be on display until the end of June.  McKeeby has been inspired particularly by Native American folk art and the art of Edward Hicks, a Quaker preacher/painter most famous for his “Peaceable Kingdom” series of paintings. In this art of the mid-1800s era, common themes included the harmonious relationship of native Indians to nature.
McKeeby continues to create replicas of authentic paintings of this period and also sometimes uses modern photographic prints that he translates into paintings. The richness of his color schemes and his replications of Hicks’ work are interesting, meticulously executed studies. Viewing his work is enhanced by browsing through the book The Kingdoms of Edward Hicks,  that McKeeby has generously donated to the library.
Besides producing limner style art, McKeeby is working with his wife to restore an historic 1800 home in Berlin.