Reid Stowe

William Reid Stowe (born. 1952) is a multi-disciplinary artist who explores intricate geometric collage compositions and brilliantly painted color works. Stowe has been in and about the New York art scene since the late 1970s where he rubbed shoulders with his influential artist friends in the East Village, including Jean-Michel Basquiat, who painted his portrait of Stowe as a gift in 1985.  In addition to his artistic accomplishments, he has been a lifelong sailor, having logged 1,152 non-stop days at sea (including many other trips) circumnavigating the globe.

Stowe, who incorporates actual sails and ropes into his paintings, grew up around boats on the East Coast, sailing on the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans in his late teens and early twenties. By age 26, he had built two of his own sailboats with the help of his family and friends. Stowe subsequently sailed to the Antarctic with his schooner Anne in 1986 and completed a 194-day journey without touching land in 1999. In 2010 Stowe completed a more extensive ocean voyage, entitled 1000 Days at Sea: The Mars Ocean Odyssey—a journey that commenced on April 21, 2007. He has been written up in publications all over the world, including; The New York Times, The Guardian, Huffington Post, New York Magazine, Miami Herald, among others. Stowe lives and works in New York.