Autistic Artist’s Detailed ‘Images Of Quogue’ Displayed At Library

The Quogue Library Art Gallery is hosting a unique and deeply personal art exhibition throughout the month of August.

On display are paintings of landmark buildings in Quogue and Westhampton Beach, such as the Church of the Atonement and the Quogue Library itself, rendered through paper, acrylic paint and pencil created by artist Christopher Murray, 56, whose family summered in Southampton throughout his childhood.

Lucinda Morrisey, the chair of the Quogue Library’s art committee and friend of the Murray family, noted in the library newsletter that Mr. Murray’s pieces show a “near obsessive focus on the architecture and linear formation of the buildings he depicts” with his methodical use of rulers.

“His attention to the geometric, brick-by-brick exterior of each building stands in strong contrast to his hastily rendered depictions of trees, people and the streets they inhabit,” Ms. Morrisey wrote.

And according to Mr. Murray’s older brother, Tom Murray, his brother created the 17 paintings, inspired by a series of historic photographs, in fewer than five months.

“My brother never ceases to amaze me,” he admitted in a phone interview.

For nearly 40 years, Christopher has maintained a razor-sharp focus and unyielding commitment to his art all while overcoming the stigma of living with autism.

While he has used Southampton as an inspiration in the past, Christopher’s central muse has been the endless brownstones and skyscrapers of New York City, Tom said.

Despite finding critical acclaim in art circles over the years through exhibitions in Manhattan and beyond, Tom said his brother’s passion did not come about from a desire for fame or fortune, but rather as a way to express himself in the light of his father’s death.

The head of the Murray household drowned in the surf of a Southampton beach at the age of 52.

Because of the complexities of Christopher’s autism, Tom said his brother could not process the tragedy in a traditional sense.

Instead, he expressed his grief through what he did best: art.

At the opening reception of the exhibition, Tom asked the audience how different the world might be if “quote, unquote, ‘normal people’” could express themselves creatively to get through hard times rather than curl up in despair.

The latest series of paintings also came out of an ongoing emotional period in the Murray family’s life. Tom said their mother, Janice, is going through a “transition period” in her health and is ultimately dying. This blow has once again pushed Christopher toward artistic therapy, leading him to create the latest series of paintings—which Tom said is the best work he’s ever done.

In addition to Christopher’s artwork, the exhibition’s opening on August 5 featured a special screening of the critically acclaimed Showtime documentary “Dad’s In Heaven With Nixon,” directed, written and produced by Tom.

Incorporating home movies shot on the shores of Southampton from the 1920s to the 1960s, the film tells the complex story of the Murray family’s trials and tribulations beginning with Tom and Christopher’s great-grandfather, famed Irish-American inventor and businessman Thomas E. Murray, and their grandfather, John F. Murray, commissioner of the Port Authority under Franklin Roosevelt.

The film also delves into the life of Tom and Christopher’s father, Thomas Murray II, who suffered from bipolar disorder and ultimately lost the family’s fortune.

However, the heart of the film, Tom said, is the relationship between Ms. Murray and Christopher. Although doctors labeled her autistic son as a lost cause, she always said “there was a light in his eyes” that suggested otherwise.

Although Christopher’s autism diagnosis did not come until he was in his teens, he had a distressed birth and suffered brain damage due to a lack of oxygen. When the family realized he was delayed verbally and physically they took him to various doctors who said he had no future, Tom said. This proved not to be the case. Eventually Christopher began to walk and speak. Later on, a doctor suggested he might have autism.

“Autism back then was so not on radar,” Tom said. “We’ll never really know what came first. Was the autism created or triggered by his traumatic birth? No one will ever know.”

No matter the reason, Christopher exceeded expectations in every way imaginable, Tom said. In 1979 he enrolled in a program that specializes in young adults with cognitive disabilities in New Haven. After graduating, he remained in New Haven as an independent adult and artist.

Living in Michigan, Tom admits he doesn’t see Christopher as often as he would like and their relationship has changed somewhat over the years. But he said his admiration for his brother’s success and the life he has made for himself has no limits.

“I look to him now as a guiding light in my life … who he is and how he lives his life and what he continues to accomplish is remarkable,” Tom said.

“Chris Murray, Images of Quogue” will be on display at the Quogue Library Art Gallery until August 31. Visitquoguelibrary.org for hours and more information.