Ogunquit News
Longtime Ogunquit artist passes away
By C. Ayn Douglass
OGUNQUIT - The town's fire and rescue personnel responded to a call from George Carpenter's Perkins Cove gallery Sunday morning, but were unable to save the life of this former resident and longtime Ogunquit artist.By profession, Carpenter, who resided in nearby Wells at the time of his death, was an artist, but by avocation he was the unofficial goodwill ambassador for Perkins Cove, according to Ogunquit officials.
"Everybody knows George. He's a fixture in town and one of the few lasting artists, certainly the last one in the cove," said Town Manager Phil Clark. "My family has his paintings. He was a good, generous soul and a great representative for the town."
Carpenter, 77, was born on December 13, 1928, in Boston, Mass., the son of George Gillis and Daisy Winifred Carpenter.
He married Virginia Forsyth on October 14, 1966, and served in the Korean Conflict with the 82nd Airborne Unit.
He moved to Ogunquit in 1966 to pursue his passion of painting. By his own count, he estimated prior to his death that he had created 18,000 pieces of art while living here and operating his studio in the cove.
"He rented from us on Route 1 when he first moved here and we have one or two of his paintings," said Fire Chief Ed Smith. "We left one at the house (that he rented) when it was sold because we thought it would be a good selling feature."
In the recently published "Ogunquit Love Stories," Carpenter wrote. "Ogunquit had a lot to do with giving me my life's blood. … I think if I can continue living like a seedy old man with a lot of love in his craw I will keep on going until the day I die. There is something here that is priceless."
Local officials described recent conversations with Carpenter at the cove.
"He always had suggestions on how to make the beach and cove more tourist friendly," Clark recalled. "Just last week I was talking to him down at the cove and he said we need more signage for the bathrooms. Just then a tourist walked by and asked for directions to the bathroom."
Carpenter's response, he said, was "See what I mean?"
According to the Ask/Art website, Carpenter was an impressionist painter of watercolor landscapes and exhibited in the United States, Canada and abroad.
"I talked with him on Friday at the cove and asked him what he was doing there," Smith said. "He had recently had surgery. He just said, 'This is where I belong, so this is where I am.' George was a real fixture in the cove."
Services for George Carpenter were incomplete as of press time on Tuesday.
Contact Ogunquit reporter via e-mail at cayndouglass@yorkindependent.net.
