Inspired By An Island

Ray Ellis’ paintings of fishermen stoically pursuing their passion in cold, gray surf against a backdrop of rocky beaches and steep cliffs or under a full moon mirrored on a tide flooding through Cape Poge Gut were the face of the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby for 25 years.

Ellis, who died in 2013 at age 92, told the story of the derby and the anglers who fish it through his iconic paintings, which generated more than $500,000 in print sales for scholarships that helped the island’s students pursue