Priscilla Payne Hurd (Payne Gallery in background)

From the artist, Edgar Jerins: In 2004, Payne Gallery of Moravian College (now Moravian University) hosted my solo show "My Friends My Brothers" with fourteen of my large narrative drawings. They were looking for someone to do a portrait of Priscilla Payne Hurd and Dr. Erwin Rokte. I was hired to do both of these portraits.

I had the pleasure of meeting Priscilla Payne Hurd when setting up her portrait. She was relaxed and natural when posing, which greatly aided me in my portrait process.

About Edgar Jerins: Edgar Jerins was born in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1958. He graduated from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1980 with a four-year certificate. That year, he was awarded an Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant. Subsequent grants are The Pollack-Krasner Foundation Grant, New York Foundation for the Arts, Fellowship in printmaking/drawing/artist books, The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts Grant, George Sugarman Foundation Grant (twice), and the ED Foundation Grant. In 2014, he receive the New York Academy of the Art’s Venture Fund Grant.

His has had a solo exhibition at the Latvian Foreign Art Museum, Riga, Latvia; Museum of Nebraska Art; Payne Gallery at Moravian College (now Moravian University); and two New York City exhibitions at Tatistcheff Gallery. His drawings have been widely exhibited in catalog-supported shows across the US. His drawing and essay are included in the recent survey of figurative art in the Rizzoli book "The Figure: Painting, Drawing, and Sculpture: Contemporary Perspectives." Reviews include the New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, and the American Arts Quarterly. A feature article “Uomimi in mezzo autumn Guaita” by Lorenzo Cerbini appeared in Italy’s ARTE magazine.

His public collections are Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis MN; The Global center for Latvian Art, Cesis Latvia; Arkansas Art Center; Museum of Nebraska art; and Moravian University.

He is represented by ACA Galleries in New York City. Jerins is an adjunct faculty at the New York Academy of Art.