From Oyster Bay to the National Mall: Renowned Long Island Artist Barbara Ernst Prey marks America’s 250th

LONG ISLAND PRESS | by Nadja Islam | July 19, 2026

Long Island native Barbara Ernst Prey has documented space history for NASA, designed an official White House Christmas card, and served as a presidential appointee to the National Council on the Arts.

Yet, no matter how far her career takes her, she always finds herself returning to the shifting coastal light of Oyster Bay.

Now, her locally rooted art is taking center stage for the nation’s 250th anniversary. Prey has been selected to feature her celebrated watercolors at the Museum of the Americas on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., marking the historical milestone.

“Our country contains extraordinary diversity, in its landscapes, its people, and its stories,” Prey said. “I hope to contribute to the long tradition of American painting from a contemporary female perspective. My watercolors celebrate those shared places that connect us.”

Art is a lifelong practice for Prey. The daughter of the former head of the design department at the Pratt Institute, she grew up painting alongside her mother in a large home studio, traveling to locations stretching from Oyster Bay to the Hamptons.

After attending Williams College and Harvard University, an internship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art led to a Fulbright Scholarship to Europe and selection as a Luce Scholar in Asia. Today, she is one of only two living female artists represented in the White House’s permanent collection.

While she has spent decades mastering watercolor, a famously unforgiving medium that she compares to the structured spontaneity of jazz, she has recently introduced smaller, plein-airoil paintings into her routine.

“I was deeply moved by a small American flag someone had tucked into the memorial ribbons on its façade,” Prey recalled. “Although the church is far removed from the events of Sept. 11, that simple gesture spoke to a shared sense of remembrance and resilience.”

Whether she is painting an intimate local scene or executing a monumental project, like her recent commission for “MASS MoCA,” which stands as the world’s largest watercolor at 8 by 15 feet, Prey’s anchor remains the environment where she grew up.

“No matter where my work takes me, from NASA commissions to museums and embassies around the world, I always find myself returning to places that feel deeply rooted in home,” Prey said. “The different lights are always changing, continually providing inspiration.”

Barbara Prey in front of her MASS MoCA painting

250th, Watercolor on paper, 28 × 21 inches

Gallantly Streaming, Watercolor on paper, 27 × 39 inches

God and Country, Watercolor on paper, 27.5 × 22 inches