" Wayne Ensrud is the 'Artist to the Wine World' " - Baron Philippe de Rothschild

Internationally acclaimed artist Wayne Ensrud has well-earned the incomparable title of ‘Artist to the Wine World’ given to him by the Baron Philippe de Rothschild. Within Ensrud's multi-faceted ‘oeuvre’, he has created over 2000 paintings of the wine and restaurant culture that are coveted by numerous private and corporate collectors.

His love affair with wine began in 1974 when he was invited by the owner of Chateau Bouscaut in the Graves region of France to create paintings of the grape harvest. As word spread about this American artist’s brilliantly colored paintings depicting the joys of the wine culture, an astounding number of commission requests arrived from prestigious chateaux and domaines such as Mouton-Rothschild, Domaine de la Romanee-Conti, Haut-Brion, Beychevelle, Prieure-Lichine, Leoville-Barton, Lafite-Rothschild and Ducru-Beaucaillou among many others.

His celebratory paintings immediately appealed to international fine art and wine collectors as well as prominent figures in the wine industry. His friends the Baron Philippe de Rothschild, Alexis Lichine (Proprietor of Chateau Prieure-Lichine), Aubert de Villaine (Proprietor of Domaine de la Romanee-Conti) and Jean Delmas (Director of Chateau Haut-Brion) all recognized Ensrud’s exceptional artistic talent and arranged his visits to the most heralded vineyards in France.

Upon his return to New York City, Ensrud was invited to be the first American to have a solo exhibition at the Alliance-Francaise in New York City where his 45 paintings portraying the vineyards and pleasures of wine were sold out.

The renowned Manhattan wine emporium, Sherry-Lehmann, invited him in 1980 to exhibit for the first time at their venue which began a collaboration that continues to this day numbering more than 40 illustrated Sherry-Lehmann catalogues and exhibitions of Ensrud paintings.

He has painted the major chateaux and vineyards of Burgundy, Bordeaux, Beaujolais, Chateauneuf du Pape, Italy and Napa Valley.

(*** View the complete list of his vineyards, restaurants and commissions here.***)

Some of his commissions include: Moet-Chandon, Martell Cognac, Thienot, Godiva Liqueur, House of Seagrams, American Express, Domaine de La Romanee-Conti, Domaine Leflaive, Georges Duboeuf and Robert Mondavi.

He has also painted the three-star restaurants of France, the famous New York City restaurants, the renowned bistros and Belle Epoque cafes of Paris, the top Napa Valley restaurants and created murals for restaurants in Paris, New York City, Minneapolis and San Francisco.

Ensrud was also commissioned by Robert and Margrit Mondavi to create 20 different images and hand-paint them on 20 jeroboam bottles as the Mondavi auction lot for the 2001 Napa Valley Wine Auction. The lot sold for a record-breaking $260,000.

In recognition of Ensrud’s formidable body of work, Les Vins Georges Duboeuf presented an exhibition June 15 – September 16, 2007 at their cultural center Hameau du Vin of their private collection of 100 Ensrud paintings, drawings and watercolors as well as Ensrud’s first commission for Georges Duboeuf, the 1987 Beaujolais Nouveau poster. In 2009, Georges Duboeuf commissioned Ensrud to create a special wine label for his exceptional ’09 vintage of Beaujolais Nouveau in celebration of Sherry-Lehmann’s 75th anniversary.

Ensrud infuses his paintings with a sensual quality that express a festive spirit. His uplifting artworks capture the pleasures of the vine in a dynamic style by bringing to life the mystique, romance and enjoyment of wine translated into art.

Career Beyond the Vine

Internationally known and acclaimed as an artist, painter and printmaker, career highlights include:

Protégé of the renowned Austrian Expressionist artist, Oskar Kokoschka.
Over 60 solo and group exhibitions in the United States, Europe and Japan.
Art Director of the Dept. of Motion Pictures & Television for the University of California.
Juror on the San Francisco International Film Festival.
Art Director for KQED (San Francisco)
Executive Art Director of PBS-TV, Channel-13,New York City
Film Animator of man’s first walk in space for ABC-TV’s Gemini Space Program.
Creative Director of the award-winning series for IBM “The Computer and the Mind of Man.”
Professor of Film Animation at Pratt Institute.
Co-founder of the Innisfree Music Festival.
Illustrator for Gourmet and Holiday.
Creator of more than 50 lithograph editions.
Painted the major chateaux & vineyards of France (Bordeaux, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Champagne, Chateauneuf du Pape), Italy, Spain and California.
Painted the three-star restaurants of France, the famous New York City restaurants, the renowned bistros and the Belle Epoque cafes of Paris and the top Napa Valley restaurants.

As a painter, Wayne Ensrud has explored in his long career the realms of Realism, Surrealism, Constructivism and Expressionism. That well traveled road lead him to engage a wide range of subjects including landscapes, seascapes, still lifes, portraiture, figures, animals, religion, mythology and abstract painting. His enduring art appeals to seasoned as well as first-time buyers of art. Through years of study of master artists before him, Ensrud synthesizes his aesthetic discoveries into fresh eternal paintings.

Born in Minnesota where local artists in his hometown inspired and encouraged him to pursue the study of art, he enrolled at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design where his teachers included Oskar Kokoschka, Vaclav Vytlacil, Buckminster Fuller, Ben Shahn, Jacques Lipchitz and Josef Albers. Most importantly and life-changing, he met the Austrian painter, Oskar Kokoschka with whom he shared a life-long friendship as his protégé bound by the deepest respect.