About Art Newton
The Man
The Romantic
The Artist
Meet Art Newton. Born and raised in Southport NC, he grew up on the Cape Fear River and spent much time on the water as you can see here with Old Baldy Lighthouse in the background. He lost his life to this same river at 42 years of age. He was a man with exceptional artistic talents.
The Artist
The Romantic
The Artist
He is known as "Southport's First Professional artist and photographer". He created over 600 paintings in his brief time on earth and took thousands of photographs. His paintings have stood the test of time as many still hang in businesses and homes around Southport and surrounding cities such as Wilmington.
The Romantic
The Romantic
The Romantic
Art proposed to Valli Bryant the day he met her at his art show in Southport. After some convincing she married him in 1948 and they began life together in New York as he completed his art training. With the arrival of their first son they decided to move back home to Southport and set up shop.
The Comedian
The Comedian
The Romantic
He shows his sense of humor with this photograph of him drawing the draw bridge that for many years was the only way to get to the beach or what is known as Oak Island today.
The Family
The Comedian
The Family
Art with Valli, Jon (center), Dana (left) and Star in front of their Bay Street Home. Star had childhood leukemia and died before her 5th birthday in 1961.
The Legacy
The Comedian
The Family
Here Art sits with his youngest child, Juli, on his lap. This could well have been the last photograph taken of him as he died just a few months later. He captured, on film and canvas, his beloved hometown when it was still a simple fishing village and left the images for us today.