A chance meeting leads to a gift to the Bruckner Archive


Woodcut by Jeff Weaver

At a recent concert by the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra at Sanders Theater in Cambridge, a chance meeting lead to an incredible addition to the Bruckner Archive. I was sitting with Bruckner Journal Editor, Michael Cucka, when a man seated behind me asked if I was John Berky. Answering in the affirmative, the man introduced himself as Ralph Gorvett from Ogonquit, Maine. He reminded me that I had sent him some Bruckner CDs several years ago and that a friend of his had made a woodcut image of Anton Bruckner. He had always wanted to send me a copy but never got around to doing it. After a brief conversation, he made it clear that a copy of the print would be forthcoming soon.

What I did not know was that the "copy" ended up being a framed ORIGINAL woodcut by artist, Jeff Weaver who owns the Jeff Weaver Studio and Art Gallery in Gloucester, Massachusetts. It turns out that Ralph Gorvett's brother is also an artist and the proprietor of the Piscataqua Fine Art Studio and Gallery in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

All three (Ralph and Don Gorvett and Jeff Weaver) attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. All have remained active in the fine and performing arts in the Gloucester / Portsmouth / Ogonquit area.

The woodcut is approximately 12 x 18 inches and is two tone (black and light brown).