Every time I take the ferry to Shelter Island, I think about Alan Shields.
Years ago, I organized Alan Shields: Protracted Simplicity (1966–1985) at the Aspen Art Museum after making a special trip to the Museum of Modern Art to see one of his extraordinary paintings. Ever since, I’ve associated him with Shelter Island, where he lived a remarkable dual life as both an artist and a ferry captain.
This visit, JP and I set out on a seven-mile bike ride from The Pridwin to Sylvester Manor, where I thought we would find one of his outdoor sculptures. We wandered through the grounds and the exhibition before continuing on to the Shelter Island History Museum, where I also expected to encounter his work.
We didn’t find Alan at either place.
The information I had relied on was out of date, and his works were no longer on view. Ordinarily that might have felt disappointing. Instead, I realized I had spent the entire day in search of an artist who was present whether his work was there or not.
Sometimes artists become part of a place. Knowing that Alan lived there, worked there, and ferried people back and forth across the water changed the way I experienced the island. Every ferry crossing, every winding road, every glimpse of the landscape felt connected to him.
I never saw an Alan Shields artwork that day.
And somehow, I still felt like I had spent the day with Alan.
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