“PORT NORRIS SHIPPING SHEDS”: This 1907 painting by artist F. Hutton Shill are featured in “F. Hutton Shill and the Lost History Of Port Norris,” on view October 20 through December 11 at the Pedersen Gallery in Lambertville.

The Pedersen Gallery, 17 North Union Street, Lambertvile, presents “F. Hutton Shill and the Lost History Of Port Norris,” on view October 20 through December 11.

In the first decades of the 20th century, Port Norris and the adjacent areas of Bivalve and Shell Pile, located on the Maurice River in South Jersey, became the center for the greatest oyster harvesting industry in the world. In 1910 the annual oyster crop was valued at $2,500,000, representing the harvest of 3,600,000 bushels of oysters. Over 1,500 people were employed in the oyster industry and 1,000 alone for shucking. Entire towns arose in the support of the growing industry, and Port Norris became one of the wealthiest maritime communities on the East Coast. Several hundred schooners were built and sailed from the Maurice River Cove into the Delaware Bay for use in the oyster industry.

Pennsylvania Academy-trained artist F. Hutton Shill (1872-1946) first began visiting Port Norris in 1899 and worked until 1907 painting the oyster fleet. These paintings were exhibited more than four times at Philadelphia Academy exhibitions held between 1905 and 1907. Shill’s works were informed by the admonition of the influential contemporary artist and teacher Robert Henri, “Paint what you feel, paint what you see, paint what is real.”

Shill’s paintings of Port Norris depict the history of the South Jersey oyster industry. His paintings of the ships, docks, and sheds of Port Norris are done in a realist style that uniquely captures the life and activity of the vibrant oyster industry.

Gallery hours are Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 5 p.m., and by appointment. For more information, call (609) 397-1332.