St. Peter’s dedicates July 3 art show in memory of William Dec

St. Peter’s Episcopal Church is paying tribute to member William Dec, who died in 2020 at the age of 95, by dedicating its 55th annual art show in his memory.

The art show will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, July 3, in St. Peter’s Square at Second and Market streets, downtown Lewes.

Dec grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he discovered a love of painting at a young age and grew to become an accomplished watercolor artist. He received numerous awards for his paintings, many of which can be found in the finest private collections.

In his lifetime, Dec produced over 500 paintings which portrayed his pastimes, places he lived and visited, rural and seashore scenes, and his grandchildren. He had a great love for life, and many experiences and interests which he put to good use while working as a watercolor artist and teacher.

Dec also operated several art galleries. In 2013, he painted portraits of eight local homes for the annual Rehoboth Art League Cottage Tour. He was a regular participant in St. Peter’s Art Show each July, and in 2015 he was chosen to be a featured artist. From the studio of his Lewes home, he taught drawing and watercolor classes.

While he had some formal art training at the Art Students League of New York and the Pratt Institute, most of what Dec knew was learned on the job. He was an instructor at New York University, Adelphi University and Parsons School of Design. Dec’s career included a 25-plus-year stretch working for major New York advertising firms. Among the national TV ad campaigns he worked on were those which introduced Handi-Wipes and Baggies to consumers.

Dec resided in Massapequa, N.Y., and Newark before moving to Lewes in 2013 with his wife Cindy, who died in 2019. Dec was a member of St. Thomas Church in Newark when he prepared a watercolor set of the Stations of the Cross and gave that parish a copy of the paintings, while giving the originals to St. Peter’s Church in Lewes. Rehoboth Art & Framing matted and framed the set of paintings, which were permanently hung in St. Peter’s after its recent renovation.

St. Peter’s congregation members are so grateful that Dec shared his wonderful talents so freely with his faith community in Lewes. St. Peter’s members and art show organizers are also grateful for the art pieces donated by the Dec family o the silent auction. The proceeds from their sales will benefit the church’s Open Door Project capital campaign.