Ray Davenport prints benefit Sumter seniors

The children of renowned Sumter artist Ray Davenport have donated dozens of his signed prints to Sumter Senior Services, where Davenport volunteered for many years. SSS will offer the prints for sale through its Facebook page beginning Thursday.

Davenport, who died in January 2016, was celebrated for his photorealistic paintings of rural and urban scenes, many of them of Sumter and other locations in South Carolina. His work won scores of awards and can be found in many public and private collections. He was listed in Who's Who in American Art, was a full member of The National Society of Painters in Casein and Acrylic and Allied Artists of America and was a charter member and Member with Excellence, South Carolina Watercolor Society, among his honors.

Rebecca Sears, director of Sumter Senior Services' RSVP - Retired Senior Volunteer Program - said framed, signed prints are hanging in the halls of the SSS administrative building at 119 S. Sumter St. One print, titled The Carolina Spirit, II, will be given to a randomly selected Facebook user who shares the SSS Facebook page.

Sears said, "The prints will be sold through our Facebook page at prices ranging from $25 to $60. There are only a few copies of several of the prints, including large prints of Main Street Sumter, 1951, and Edmunds High School. There are several prints that would be great for hanging in children's rooms or nurseries."

Several of the Christmas cards designed and donated by Davenport to benefit the Meals on Wheels program are also available for purchase, Sears said. Images of the prints can be viewed on the Sumter Senior Services website, www.sumterseniorservices.org, and on its Facebook page. Call (803) 773-5508 for more information.