The Gallery at Ella's Fine Food and Drink

Ella’s Fine Food & Drink Announces 

‘The Gallery at Ella’s’

Featuring Local Artist, David Black, 

at Acclaimed Westerly Restaurant

Ella’s Fine Food & Drink, Westerly’s casually-elegant hot spot located at 2 Tower Street, is pleased to announce that its walls will now be home to artwork from local artists, revolving throughout the year.

The first to show will be renowned painter David Black, a resident of nearby Stonington, Conn., at Ella’s inaugural exhibition. “I am honored that Ella’s chose my work,” Black said. “I love dining at Ella’s! Every meal is a work of art!”

David Black's Paintings
at Ella's Fine Food and Drink

Black’s line drawings were first seen in 1983 by renowned artists Patrick Caulfield and John Hoyland of London’s Royal Academy of Art. As a result of that viewing, Frederick Gore, CBE, head of its exhibition committee, chose 40 paintings for a widely-lauded solo show in London. “David Black is a serious painter and his paintings are fun,” Gore said at the time, adding that Black is "an extraordinary natural talent and a voracious observer of humanity.”

What a great partnership this is!

Chef Jeanie Roland, owner of Ella's Fine Food and Drink says, “Ella’s is a true community restaurant and we are passionate about supporting those who make our corner of the world as special as it is, from local farmers and fishermen to artists and craftsmen,”  She continues on to say, “Creating a program to feature outstanding area artists allows us to enhance what we hope is an already unparalleled dining experience.”

A celebration of Black’s artwork will be held at Ella’s on Thursday, September 8th from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., featuring cocktails and hors d’oeuvres from Chef Jeanie Roland and the opportunity to meet the artist. Yes! Come meet David Black!

For more information, please call 401-315-0606 or visit www.ellasfinefoodanddrink.com.


The following works by David Black are among those on display and available for purchase at Ella’s. For more information about the paintings, please visit www.davidblacknyc.com or call 212-620-0078.

About Ella’s Fine Food & Drink

Ella’s Fine Food & Drink, located at 2 Tower Street in Westerly, RI, was opened in 2011 by Chef Jeanie Roland, a seven-time James Beard-nominated chef, and her husband and business manager, James Roland.  A premier dining destination for coastal, southern New England, Ella’s features French-Asian inspired fare imbued with Chef Roland’s passion for cooking with the freshest seasonal ingredients. In her pursuit of perfection, everything is made from scratch, from breads to desserts and everything in between, and menus change frequently in an effort to highlight the best available ingredients and to challenge Chef Roland and her culinary team. She has been quoted as saying that perhaps, "she has yet to create her best dish!"

In addition to being a James Beard nominee in two regions, Chef Roland is one of a select few contestants to “Beat Bobby Flay” on the Food Network.  In 2016, Ella’s was named in the Top Five restaurants for overall cuisine in all of New England by OpenTable diners.  Chef Roland and James also own and operate The Perfect Caper restaurant in Punta Gorda, FL. For more information, visit www.ellasfinefoodanddrink.com.

More on Artist David Black

After his London debut, Black’s career as an artist took off. The National Arts Club in New York published a book of Black’s line drawings that the Guggenheim Museum acquired for its permanent collection. The DFN Gallery in SoHo exhibited his works. The New Yorker devoted an entire page to his self-portrait. 

Black’s work also was chosen for the U.S. State Department’s Art in Embassies program, which led to a Fulbright Travel Grant from the American Embassy in Tunis, to meet with a group of emerging artists practicing a new art form. (Black’s paintings had been hanging in the residence of the U.S. ambassador to Tunisia.)  

He later brought the new art form, Tunisian Collaborative Painting, to the United States, prompting then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to name Black an honorary diplomat. “By introducing this unique art form to the United States at a time when the Tunisian artists who pioneered it could not travel, you built a bridge that artists from both countries are now able to cross,” she stated.

Before his artistic career, Black was a Tony-Award winning producer of 18 Broadway shows, presenting many of the theater world’s brightest stars. He also has authored three books: The Actor’s Audition, considered a “bible” for aspiring actors, The Magic of Theater; and most recently, his memoir, Falling Off Broadway. 

For more information about the paintings, please visit www.davidblacknyc.com or call 212-620-0078. 

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