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THEEGELIFAMILY
EXHIBITION
The fine art of eleaen family artists
SEPTEMBER 3_NOVEMBER 1, L985
THE LIFE OF MARYLAND GALLERY

The Egeli Family Exhibition
Artistic talent-painting, music, writing
and some of the other gentle endeavors-are
often passed down from father and mother to
sons and daughters. The composer Bach is a
good example of how great talent begets great
talent.
In Maryland, and indeed perhaps only tn
Maryland, there is a family whose artist members-number
eleven. A11 ai'e professionally engaged
in some form of the visual arts. When
Bjorn Egeli left his home in Horton, Norway,
at age 15, he was already an accomplished
painter and wood carver. Fourteen years later
in America, he met and married Lois Baldwin,
also an exceptional artist.
Today there are three Egeli sons, Pete{,
Cedric and Bjorn |ames and two daughters,
Mary Lois and Carolyn. There arel2grandchildren
and five in-laws. Of these, eleven are
exhibiting here, including the work of Bjorn
Egeli who died in October,7984.In a sense,
this show is a memorial to him.
Collectively, the Egeli family has produced
well over 2,000 portraits, murals, landscapes
and marine paintings. Of the portraitures,
most notable would be those of Presidents
Eisenhower and Nixon, Generals MacArthur
and Kates, Admirals Burke and Turner plus
cabinet members, court judges, physicians,
colporate presidents and celebrities.
This is the first time the "Egeli" artists have
exhibited together. We invite you to savor the
fruits of their talent. We believe that it is
unique in American culture.

The Egeli Family Tkee
Peter Egeli
n.
Elizabeth Stuart Wilkinson
Biom James Egeli
m.
Sandra Bullington
Elizabeth lois Egeli
Peter Stuart Egeli
Matthew Alfred Egeli
Arthur Biom Egeli
Anastasia Hoffman Egeli
Ingrid Baldwin Egeli
James Christian Egeli
Justin Even Bullington
April Lynette Ekroos
Jon Raymond Ekroos
Jennifer Page
Brian Lee Page

Lars
Ol, ?5" x27"
Hmmah Pouers
hstel. 24" x23"
Lois Baldwin Egeli
(1908- )
. Lois Baldwin was an accomplished, award-winning
artist when she and Biom Egeli married in
November, 1932. A graduatdof the prestigious
Corcoran School whEre she was thswinnir of that
institution's final competition during her last yeat she
was also featured nigSZ's nationalBiennium, where
her painting "Dorothea" (later known as "Tranquility")
was'unanirfiously accepted by its iury. WinninE
fourth place in the po6ular vbte, fhaf paintinqistablished
Lois credential3 as one of the 6est yoring
female artists of that time.
Lois has always been both creative and prolific in
her art, from childhood days of hanging riaintings
and sketches in her family/s dinine r:ooi1"'gallerf" at
their home in Washington, D.C., Io her self-taufht
skills in fashion drawihg. But perhaps the prolif,eration
of her sense of creitivity found^its moit lasting
contribution in the talent and skill that she has
passed
-
to her children.
The Egeli family's farm in rural St. Mary's County,
Md., resls on thswaters of the Chesapeake Bay,
peacefully isolated from most of the r6st of the-world.
It was in-this setting that Biom and Lois chose to
raise and educate tFeir chililren. As their primary
instructor, Lois quite naturally passed her'artistic
talent on to their children, arid^as a result, her
children chrlclren spent sDent several of ot their ther yourlger vounger years vears assum- assl
ing mg that tnat everyone in m the tne world woilo could coulq qraw. dr-aw. Lois's Lorss
refigious fa!!h i9 e-vr{ent in the grace and form of her
paiitings. Her belief in a universal principle has
i:uided'her zuidedher work for manv many vears. years.
"
Althoush the maioriW ofher 6f-her paintings paintinss are done in
oil, , in recint yeqls years 3!g 3he has_comf,lete{a"_number
has comfrleted a"number of
pieces, such ds "Jennifer's Tiio" lnd "Trffany", tt
iencil'and pasteis.
Joanette Hoffman Egeli
(]:eu- )
After graduation from high school, foanette was
fued with determination to-excel in the art world.
She won five scholarships to art colleges. After receiving
her degree in firie arts from tlie Philadelphia
Colleg! of Artin 1952, she attended the Brooklyh
Muse-um on a graduate fellowship. The New York
environment obened new vistas bf opportunity to the
younq art stud-ent. She attended clas3es at the-Art
Stuae"nts League, studying under Sidney Dickenson,
Hale. and Brichman.
She brines to her portraits of voung people a deep
appreciatioi for the individual chla dir'ct an insight'
intb his or her future as an adult. The result is ffine
work of art that capfures the person's true spirit.
Joanette prefers to work in her own studiils in
Annapolis and Provincetown although if time allows,
she hls traveled to other than a stuilio environment.
Her patience and ability are reflected in the quality
of her work.

Dearbom, Michigan
Watercolor. 70Yl'x72"
Elizabeth Stuart (Stu) Wilkinson Egeli
(1942- )
Stu has chosen to subordinate her own career to
handling the massive administrative chores of managing
Petei's work, family property and, of course, two
children.
A native of Bel Air, Maryland, she attended St.
Mary's College where she -met Peter in 1962. While
hained in ari. she seldom exhibits her work because
of the press of other activities. She did show with
three other members of her familv at St. Timothv's
School last vear.
Her kno#ledge of art and business has removed
that responsibili'fu from her husband so he can be
most pioductive-in painting. She often jokes that her
paintiirg continues througti Peter's.
- Even-with her busv schedule. she is able to leave
the farm and studio io lecture on drawing in area
schools.
Biornfames G.J.) Egeli
(1e38- )
B. I. Eseli's artistic talents have extended bevond
the palefre and canvas, to the blueprint. A stddent of
architecfure, he has combined his experience in art,
engineering and construction into an exciting new
arc'hitecturf l career.
The youngest of the Egeli sons, B.J. was born at
Shadvside in Anne Aruntel County. Educated at
home like his siblings, B.J. attended high school at
Great Mills and studied art at the Maryland Institute,
the Art Students League in New York, and at St.
Mary's College.
His love foJ design and architecture was triggered
when he desienedln addition for a U.S. ArmV
chapel in Kor6a at the end of the 1950s, althorigh he
speirt the most of the next decade working solely as
a'n artist. But by the late 1960s, B.J. knew [hat hi3 art
was to be expr6ssed in building design.
He has wrjrked for maior coilstrucEon companies
and has desiened and bfilt manv fine homes, some
of which havi been included on'the state's Garden
Tour, throughout Maryland.
B.f. belie'.r-es that his family's realistic approach to
art has shaped his own style in architecture, providing
aesthetit appeal, as well as function. It isihrough
this medium that he continues in his familv's artistii
tradition.

Portrait of April
lhstel. 24" x 30"
Back Creek
O'il, 45" x 55"
Mary Lois Egeli Ekroos
ft94't- )
The bountiful beauty of Maryland's Eastem Shore
and its Chesapeake Biy provides both the inspiration
and the 'subject
for hany of Mary Egeli Ekroos'
paintings.
'
Born"in 1941 in Cheverley, Maryland, Mary has
spent most of her life mesrirerized by the Bai
eiploring all the life forms that it helps to sustain.
Her love"of the area brought Mary aird her family
back to the Eastem Shore-in 7972, after working as a
professional portraitist in Washington, D.C. sinie
t961.
She continues to take her subjects from the daily
life of the Bay. Paintings of workboats and oyster
skipjacks, wdterfowl, ahd other marine scen6s have
earned her a great deal of recognition, resulting in
numerous invitations to exhibiiin Easton's preJtigious
Waterfowl Festival.
Mary's proficienry is also found in her skill in
workirig with pastels, and she has completed hundreds
oT commissioned porhaits in this^medium,
now ,w hanging nanFng throughout tnrougnout both potn the tne U.S u.). .qn$
ancl Eylgp". l,urope
As an 6il orl portraiti"st, portrarhst, her ner works worKs are widely wrdely visible, vrsrble,
with wttn works worKs haneine nangrng in ln the tne Port Tobacco Courthouse
in Charles Coun"tv."the County, the Har. Harry Lundeberq School of
Seamanship in Piney Point, Georgetown"University
and_in ffi^;;dfi;;;E.;il;;";
many private collections.
Mary has-bben invited to show her paintings lnflngs in
the Old State House in St. Mary's Marv's City, Cit the he Maryland \zlar
State_House
State House in Alnapolis,-and Annapolis, and in the-headquart-ers
the
ol of
the Chesapeake Bav Bay Foundation.
Foundation
Carolyn Christine Egeli
(trs4s: )
Carolyn Egeli's artistic talent as a painter has
alwavs 6een'influenced bv her familv. Her mother
taught Carolyn when she was a child, but her formal
insFuction clme from her father. Beinq surrounded
by so many artists made painting som"ething very
natural for Carolyn.
Carolyn attended Moore College of Art in Philadelphia,
and has many portraits'currently displayed
in 6oth private homes-aird public institutions.-She
has been an exhibitor in numerous galleries throughout
the Southeast, and her work is llso representdd
bv a larqe New York portrait gallery.
'Emoti"on
and feelini are vibiant ih Carolyn's art, as
she transfers the pers-onality of each indiviilual onto
canvas.
Perhaps because of the many cherished memories
she hasbf her own familv Caiolyn eniovs doins
portraiture of other families. For her, thepersonElity
that each subiect emotes through her inte-rpretation
on canvas is ivhat makes a paiiting succes-sfuI.

lousting at Marchall Hall
Ol1.. 4'x7'
Paintcd Ostri& Eg
o'il
Arthur Biorn Egeli
(rens- )
Arthur has been involved with art all of his life,
according to his parents. He had the unique opportunity
tdstudy uhder his srandfather for'two iears at
the Maryland"Hall for Creltive Arts in Annapolis.
As a derious artist, Arthur is developing his talent
through formal education and continubus"painting.
He reieived a scholarship to the University of Maryland
and also attends thir Maryland Hall for Creative
Arts. For six months he studie-d color in Califomia at
the Art Center School.
He has accepted the challenge of linking today's realistic
painting style with thos6 of the trailitional classicists'and
cottinles to paint in the family hadition.
Elizabeth Lois Gisa) Egeli
(reffi- )
Lisa grew up on the family farm on the St. Mary's
River. $he attehded St. Timolhy's School in Baltimore
for her last two vears of hieh school. In her senior
yeat Lisa was made presid"ent of the art club. Upon
Braduation she was given the school's highest award
For artistic achievemEnt.
That same year she also was awarded an Honorable
Mention-in the Art Recognition and Talent
Search sponsored by the Nati-onal Foundation for
Advance'ment in the Arts. As a result of that honor,
she has been listed in Who's Who Among American
Hieh School Students.
Her independent study course while at St. Timothy's
was taken dt the architectural firm of Swanke.
Havden, Connell in New York CiW. In 1983 she illustrat'ed
a Christmas card and note faper for the
Hospice of St. Mary's in St. Mary's City.
Fcir the past threb years Lisa has beein offering her
drawings ind paintirigs through a small craft st6re in
Southein Marvland. She has had numerous commissions
as well, i'anging from family coats of arms to
drawinfs of privat'e h-omes. She dlso is developing a
reputation for her paintings of birds and animals.
At present Lisa is contiiuing her studies and is in
her s

SeIf Porbait
a\ 36" x42"
Biorn Peter Egeli
(1,900-1984)
Bjorn Egeli died last year at age 83. He had made
an im.presEive.mark on-the_ worl-d of portrait painfing
What's more, he influenced, in the clhssic trailition,
the lives of manv painters who were to follow.
Biorn was borh in Horton, Norway, in 1900 and
beghn the study of painting and woird carving at the
age of nine under his uncld, Herman Eseli. FIe was
also a student of the great Norwegian siulpto4
Gustav Vigeland, and-was a mode-l for onei of the
figures
-He
in Vgeland's Tbwer of Man statue in Oslo.
left No-rway at the age of 15 and went to sea,
spending four years on sqirare-riggedsailing.ships
ancl maKrng severat passages arounct Lape Horn.
Later he w6rked for'a steimship line and then ioined
the U.S. Coast Guard. Alwavs an artist. he confinued
his painfing during this time and did a number of
porfraits oiship's Sfficers and officers of the Coast
Guard. In addition, he made a number of ship
models, some of which were placed in the Se'aman's
Institute in New York.
In 1.925 he began formal art training at the
Corcoran Schoolof Art in Washingtoi, D.C. While
there, he distinguished himself by winning several
important prizei and the acclaim-of fellow"students
anil the public.
In the 55 years folJowins the Corcoran he completed
well over 600 portra"its, and the list o[ names
bf sitters to his brush- reads like a roster of the rich
and the famous, the great and near great from the
United States and abroad. Eisenhower. Nixon.
Barkelev, MacArthu4 Auchincloss, Guggenheim,
Holton and DuPonts were all subjects 5Fhis portraits.
He even painted Evelyn Walsh Mclean wearing the
famous Hope Diamorid.
He was firmly convinced of the rightness of his
path in paintinf and, at a time whei artists were
abandoriing reflresentational art, he stood bv his
convictions"and raised portraiture to new h6iehts of
beauty and expression ind inspired a new geieration
of artists.
Bjorn was a "classic" Norwegian with shong broad
shoulders, open face and cleaiblue eyes. Even in his
late years he had a thick'crop of whit'e hair. He was
prorid of himself and would'cheerfully admit it in a
hrusical Norwegian accent which add6d to his prowess
as a storyteller. He almost alwavs felt himself an
intellectual riratch for his famous si[ters with whom
he chatted easily, while he painted, to pass their time
and draw out their character
He described himself as a classicist and his oortraits
have a vibrant, colorful clarity. Almost all are
lifesize, but he did a small numbei of pastels and a
few miniatures in ivory. He was an accbmplished
amateur naval architeci and boat builder ahd, in 1955,
completed a 45-foot ketch of his own design. A
30-ftiot ketch, which he built in the 1930s,'was sailed
solo around the world twice bv Frenchman Tean Gau
who also made l3 solo crossings of the Atlantic.
Bjorn and Lois had five children, all of whom they
educated through grammar school at home and who
they also taughl tdbe successful painters.

Mrs. William C Powell
oil, 42" x72"
Reach €t Tack
Watercolol 28" x40"
lames Tiuitt
oil, 30" x 38"
K, WXi*
a skip$ack
Peter Even Egeli
$eA- )
. Peter was five years old when his mother gave him
his first lesson in perspective drawing. Grow'ing up
on his family's Southein Maryland f#m, he deVelj
oped an active interest in thsoutdoors and painted
numerous watercolors of birds and animals. -His
father maintained a studio on the farm, and Peter
was often called upon to be a stand-in model and
would watch the progression of portraits of famous
sitters. At the sarire ti-me, he wa6 doing charcoal selfportraits
and drawings of friends.
-
ln 7952, at the age"of 18, Peter enrolled in formal
art classes at the C6rcoran School of Art. Four years
later, after a tour of dutv with the United State-s
Marine Corps, he enter6d the Maryland Instihrte,
College of Art, where in his final year he won first
prize-in the Senior Concours. From 1961 to 1967, he
-taught
drawing and painting at St. Mary's College of
Maiyland.andicontiriued to-develop as a portrai'f and
manne arnst-
His Norwegian heritase manifested itself in Peter's
strong interesi in ships ind boats. In his spare time,
he btiilt a 3O-foot gaff cutter in which he aird his family
have sailed extEnsively. He has painted numerous
marines in oil, watercoloi and pasfel. Peter applies
the same integrity of purpose to his paintins oT landscape
and maiine sub'ject's as he does to his"portrait
sub-iects. In 1981, a witercolor of his own wcin Best of
Show in the Mystic International. He is a charter
member of the-American Society of Marine Artists.
Cedric BaldwinEgeli
(1e36- )
As the second son, Cedric was born into art.
Among his first memories are those of posing for a
portrait for his mother and a drawing for hislather.
Whenever possible, Cedric would go on location with
his father. 6ut it was his mother from whom he
received much of his instruction. In his early youth,
he attended college and studied at the Corcbrln Art
School and Iater at the Art Students League. During
summers, Cedric augmented his studies under
Henry Hensche at th-e Cape School in Provincetown.
While in the U.S. Army, he produced a number of
fine paintings for the Weipons'Museum in
AlbuquerquE.
Sinie that time Cedric has been a full-time artist
and teacher. He resides on a 45-acre farm on which
his studio is built as a separate building to the main
house.
He teaches painting at the Maryland Hall for the
Creative Arts in Annlpolis and, since 1980, has been
on the facultv of the National Portrait Seminar. In
1979, Cedic'won the grand prize awarded by the
National Portrait Combetitiori in New York. -
Cedric founded the-Marvland Societv of Portrait
Painters. In addition, he is-designated ln Exceptional
Member of the American Portra-it Society.
Recently his work was evaluated as the most
valuable cif the contemporary portraits-over 250
paintings-owned by fhe fohris Hopkins Hospital
ind Me?ical School.-

I}IE LIFE OF MAKYLAND GALLERY
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