About the Arts
Maine's Largest Arts Collaborative: the Maine Print Project
By Rose Safran
The Maine Print Project continues at venues across the state through March of 2007. Works such as the print shown here, currently on display at the Ogunquit Museum of American Art, can be seen in York and Ogunquit as well as at museums and galleries from Portland to Presque Isle.
Courtesy photo
YORK AND OGUNQUIT - Two centuries of printmaking in Maine is being celebrated in 25 of the state's arts institutions, including, locally, the Ogunquit Museum of American Art where insightful, whimsical prints created by the late Peggy Bacon are currently on view, and the Old York Historical Society's George Marshall Store Gallery, where an exhibition of the prints of University of New Hampshire Professor Scott Schnepf just opened.
The project, which began last month and runs through March 2007 will, in its entirety, involve more than 2,000 prints showcasing 200 years of Maine printmaking. The event will be highlighting the best works made in this state, featuring such major artists as Winslow Homer and John Marin, as well as including works from the acclaimed Vinalhaven Press, whose prints are found in leading American museums, along with lesser-known contemporary printmakers working in Maine, several popular here in the Seacoast area.
This statewide project will also include lectures and films. Here are capsules of some of the happenings, on which we hope to report in more detail as they open and/or as we drive about the countryside to enjoy them.
At the Portland Museum of Art, the exhibition, "A Century of Maine Prints: 1890s -1980s" just recently opened and will remain on view through Dec.10. In this overview of the history of printmaking in Maine from the founding of the Portland Society of Art in 1882 (the predecessor to the Portland Museum of Art) until the opening of the museum's modern Payson building addition, 75 prints have been selected primarily from its permanent collection to examine printmaking techniques as well as indicate the impact of national trends on artists associated with Maine, either as full-time or part-time residents here. Turn-of-century etchings by Winslow Homer, Frank Benson and Charles Woodbury are on view along with modernist etchings by John Marin, Louise Nevelson and others. Woodblock prints by Neil Welliver, William Zorach and living artists such as Yvonne Jacquette and contemporary monotypes round out the scope of the mixture.
Also just opened in Portland and running through Dec. 31 is a selection of prints from the collection at the Maine Historical Society, an exhibition organized by noted print scholar and author David Becker. Showcasing works from the first decades of printmaking in the state, specifically from the late 18th century to about 1880, the exhibition includes early illustrated books published in Maine, a view of Mt. Katahdin from the first geological survey of Maine published in 1837 and works by both professional engravers in Portland as well as by amateur printmakers. City views, railroad and steamer advertisements, literary and religious images are included.
At the Rockport's Farnsworth Art Museum, which was set to open this past Sunday, Sept. 24, and continue through March 3, is an exhibition of art by printmakers working during the first half of the 20th century, which will include works by Rockwell Kent, Carol Thayer Berry, Leo Meissner, Charles Woodbury, Sears Gallagher, Thomas Nason, Stow Wengenroth. "Imprints of Maine: Master Printmakers from 1900-1950," as the names of the artists mentioned imply, will embrace abstract impressionism along with other modernist styles as well as more traditional realistic art. Etchings, woodcuts, wood engravings and lithographs will be included. Additionally at this museum, opening on Oct. 15 and running through May 15, are perhaps the earliest works to be included in the Maine Print Project, namely, diminutive engravings created by pioneer printer Jonathan Fisher, depicting insects, reptiles, birds and mammals, many for his 1834 published book, "Scripture Animals."
Also in Rockport, at the prestigious Center for Maine Contemporary Art, an exhibition of some 200 prints by 175 artists selected by invitation and from a statewide call to artists will be mounted. Prints created over the past 25 years, all from artists connected to Maine but possibly printed out-of-state, will be involved. Print scholar and curator David Becker will give a keynote address at the exhibition opening on Saturday, Oct. 21, from 1 to 3 p.m., and educational programs for schools and the public are being organized. In addition, because the Bowdoin College Museum of Art is closed for renovations, this facility will host a separate exhibition "Vinalhaven Press Prints from the Bowdoin College Museum of Art Collection," which will open on the same day. During its 20-year history, the Vinalhaven Press attracted a renowned group of American as well as international printmakers, including Robert Indiana and Maine printmaker Charlie Hewitt, whose graphic work will be featured in a special exhibit at Lewiston's Bates College Museum of Art, beginning Oct. 27 and running into the spring of 2007.
In nearby Kennebunk on Oct. 13, the River Tree Center for the Arts will host an exhibition, "The Art of Printmaking" designed to educate the public about several different printing media and methods. An estimated 65 works are to be shown. Several artists well-known in this area are participating, submitting examples of their specialties: Beverly Hallam's monotypes, DeWitt Hardy's lithographs, Nancy Davison's etchings and Don Gorvett's reduction woodcuts will be included along with lectures and workshops offered.
"Alex Katz: Woodcuts and Linocuts" will open on Oct. 12 and continue through Jan. 28 at the Colby College Museum of Art in Waterville. A regular summer resident of Maine since he attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in the 1950s, this famous Lincolnville resident has worked in linoleum cuts and woodcuts, both importantly figuring in his art. His first known woodcut, from 1951-1952, is a Maine landscape; additionally, many of his relief prints are Maine-inspired by the setting surrounding his home. At the Colby exhibit, these prints will be shown in conjunction with related paintings by the artist.
Later this year, on Nov. 22 and running through Feb. 4, Portland's Maine College of Art (MECA) Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) will mount 10 large-scale silk-screen works by Robert Indiana (of LOVE image fame, which graced US postage stamps, sculpture and a host of prints) inspired by Marsden Hartley's famous 1914 "Portrait of a German Officer" in which Hartley symbolically pays homage to his personal friend who was killed in the war. These "Hartley Elegies" of 1990 and 1991 will be shown along with prints by MECA faculty, alumni and students created during the past decade.
Other venues/exhibits include: "John Muench: A Retrospective" at the University of New England Art Gallery; Contemporary Maine Monotypes" at Bath's Chocolate Church Arts; Lee Nesler at Damariscotta's Round Top Center for the Arts; "Printmaking in the 1920's and 1930s" at Eastport's Tides Institute and Museum of Art, and exhibits at several University of Maine art galleries including "The Art of Printed Books" in Orono; Claire Van Vleit in Machias, John Marin and Richard Estes in Bangor, and prints from the Peregrine Press in Presque Isle.
Downeast Magazine has published a special program detailing these and other events. It's available free in various galleries and museums, including the OHYS George Marshall Store Gallery. Additionally, with the Center for Maine Contemporary Art, Downeast Books has published a splendid 136-page hardcover book, "The Imprint of Place: Maine Printmaking 1800-2005," written by noted print authority, David Becker.
