Alfred Nunamaker, son of Pennsylvania impressionist Kenneth Nunamaker, was born in Akron, Ohio in 1915. The family moved to Center Bridge, Bucks County in 1923, where Alfred was exposed to the artists of the New Hope art colony. Growing up among such a wealth of artistic talent provided Nunamaker with the inspiration and influence to become an artist in his own right. Alfred studied under his father, Kenneth, and the painter George Sotter for several years, adopting the same impressionist techniques. At the beginning of Nunamaker’s professional career, he worked at a Philadelphia firm as a commercial artist. Later, he worked in with his father in Kenneth’s studio.

Nunamaker focused largely on marine scenes and landscapes, especially gravitating toward wintry, stormy skies at dusk. The Nunamakers had a summer home on Monhegan Island, Maine and its scenery is a frequent subject of both Kenneth and Alfred’s work. In his painting Monhegan Harbor, perhaps a storm has just passed, the grey clouds dissipating in favor of a pale, blushing sky. The water is tranquil, and the rocks are soft and mossy. Rather than a dramatic or cold scene, Monhegan Harbor is one of peace and gentle sunset. Monhegan Harbor is a beautiful example of Nunamaker’s impressionistic style, made all the more interesting for its contrast to Nunamaker’s favored scenes of winter and storms.