A three-month online art exhibit at the Newport Visual Arts Center will showcase Oregon artists and raise money for the artists and the center. It also is likely to be one of the last opportunities to buy a piece of art by the late Juergen Eckstein, who died Oct. 31 at age 77, following a stroke.

“Juergen’s art is just stacked downstairs,” said his wife, Dianne Eckstein. “He has so much work. It seems to me it should be in a good place.”

Eckstein, who is considering a move, gave two paintings and one sculpture to the city to be displayed in Newport City Hall.

Juergen Eckstein was a German native who traveled the world before settling with Dianne in Newport in 2000. A familiar presence around Newport, he co-founded the For ArtSake artist co-op and created the driftwood sculptures that stand outside the Newport Performing Arts Center and the Visual Arts Center. He was self-taught and worked in almost all mediums, including oil wash, wood, and pottery, his wife said.

“If he found a stone or piece of wood, he’d see something in it and go from there. He’d find something on the beach and make something of it,” she said. “He was always seeing something in an object that I wouldn’t. I think he just had a very wonderful imagination.”

The Oregon Coast Online Art Show, open to artists who have shown previously at the center, who live on the coast, or who are members of the Oregon Coast Council for the Arts (OCCA), received more than 120 submissions. All of the work has been organized and presented remotely. The show goes live Friday, May 29, and continues through Sept. 7.

The art will be for sale with 50 percent (45 percent for OCCA members) of the proceeds benefiting the arts council. The minimum sale price is $50. Artists are limited to one piece of art per person, but once it sells, they can replace it with another piece. All sold artwork will be shipped or delivered to purchasers following distancing protocols, said Tom Webb, executive director of the center.

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The first Eckstein piece that will be available is an untitled oil on canvas, framed in black wood, brushed with gold. Dianne Eckstein may also make pieces of his sculpture available. 

“If there is an interest in the sculpture, they are sitting on a shelf in my garage, and they are really fantastic,” she said. “I would think people would want one of his clay works.”

The artwork isn’t necessarily discounted, she said, but the pieces are more affordable than they might have been previously. 

“I am not selling at the prices Juergen wanted originally, because they didn’t sell and I can’t take them with me. I would rather they were in a home where people knew and loved Juergen and wanted part of his creativity in their home.”

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This story is supported in part by a grant from the Oregon Cultural Trust, investing in Oregon’s arts, humanities and heritage, and the Lincoln County Cultural Coalition.