Portland Press Herald: See famous paintings by Maine masters at these state parks
This article originally appears in the Portland Press Herald.
BY ERIC RUSSELL
08.13.2022
The program, running through October, is a collaboration among the Portland Museum of Art, Maine's Bureau of Parks and Lands, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and Freeport retailer L.L. Bean.
A reproduction of “Dark Harbor Fishermen” by N.C. Wyeth is posted along a trail in Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park in Freeport. The Portland Museum of Art has partnered with L.L. Bean and the state parks bureau to install reproductions of 25 works of art from its permanent collections at five outdoor sites this summer.Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer
Winslow Homer at Wolfe’s Neck. David Driskell at Bradbury Mountain. Edward Hopper at Scarborough Beach.
The Portland Museum of Art has partnered with Maine’s Bureau of Parks and Lands and Freeport retailer L.L. Bean this summer and fall to temporarily install 25 reproductions of paintings from its permanent collection at state-managed parks in southern and coastal Maine.
Titled “Art Outside and On the Trail,” the pieces are on view through October at the following parks: Sebago Lake in Casco, Bradbury Mountain in Pownal, Scarborough Beach and Wolfe’s Neck Woods in Freeport, as well as the nonprofit Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay Harbor.
Nearly every selection is by a Maine artist or an artist with strong ties to Maine, and many are landscapes depicting specific areas of a state whose natural beauty has long served as a muse.
“This display of artwork in our state parks presents a unique opportunity for nature, culture, and art to come together for public benefit and enjoyment,” said Amanda Beal, director of the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, which oversees parks and lands. “This opportunity to create connections to the natural world through art in our state parks is one we are truly excited to support.”
At each site, framed reproductions are attached to wooden posts and scattered along a trail or beach area. Each includes a bit of information about the piece and the artist.
A reproduction of “Weatherbeaten” by Winslow Homer is posted alongside the boardwalk at Scarborough Beach State Park. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer
Some of the paintings included are: “Gulf Hagas,” by realist painter Joel Babb, who built a studio in Sumner in the mid-1970s that became his permanent home; “Weatherbeaten,” a classic Homer seascape painted from the artist’s studio at Prout’s Neck, which is now owned by the museum; “Dark Harbor Fisherman,” by N.C. Wyeth, who split his time between Pennsylvania and coastal Maine; and “Self Portrait in Greenhouse Window,” by Lois Dodd, painted from her studio in Cushing.
There are a few paintings that have no connection to Maine but are reflective of the museum’s collection of impressionist masterworks, such as “The Seine at Vétheuil,” by Claude Monet, and “Confidences (Secrets),” by Pierre-Auguste Renoir.
A reproduction of “Confidences (Secrets)” by Pierre-Auguste Renoir is posted along a trail in Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park in Freeport. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer
Anyone who snaps a selfie along the art trail can show it at the museum for free admission. Visitors to all five locations by the end of October can receive a free family membership.
As the museum has been planning a major addition and overhaul of its Portland campus, the institution also has been leaning into its “Art for All” motto. The art trail is a natural progression of that philosophy.
“We are full believers that art is the heart of our communities, and we are proud to partner … to bring reproductions from the PMA’s collection beyond the museum and out into Maine’s state parks, trails and open spaces,” museum director Mark Bessire said.
Bessire said the coronavirus pandemic offered plenty of lessons for arts organizations to provide patrons with additional opportunities to experience art and culture in nontraditional ways.
“We’ve had some success in expanding audiences outside of the formal interiors, and we’re thrilled to get more,” he said.
More information about the partnership and the works chosen is available online at portlandmuseum.org/magazine/nature-art-trail.
WHAT YOU’LL SEE WHERE
Sebago Lake State Park, 11 Park Access Road, Casco ($6 admission for adults)
“Turtle Knows Your Name” – Ashley Bryan
“Mount Kathadin from Millinocket Camp” – Frederic Edwin Church
“Matinicus” – George Wesley Bellows
“A Midsummer’s Night Dream” – Tim Rollins and K.O.S.
“Self Portrait in Greenhouse Window,” Lois Dodd
Scarborough Beach State Park, 418 Black Point Road, Scarborough ($8 admission for adults)
“The Portland” – Antonio Jacobsen
“Weatherbeaten” – Winslow Homer
“Monhegan Houses” – Edward Hopper
“People Like Us” – Jeffrey Gibson
Wolfe’s Neck Woods State Park, 426 Wolfe’s Neck Road, Freeport ($4 admission for adults)
“View of Diamond Cove from Great Diamond Island” – Charles Codman
“The Seine at Vétheuil,” – Claude Monet
“Taking an Observation” – Winslow Homer
“Dark Harbor Fisherman” – Newell Convers Wyeth
“Confidences (Secrets)” – Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Bradbury Mountain State Park, 528 Hallowell Road, Pownal ($4 admission for adults)
“Ghetto Wall #2” – David Driskell
“View of Munjoy Hill,” – artist unidentified
“Kinsman Falls” – Marsden Hartley
“Target Audience: Pink Helmet” – Reggie Burrows Hodges
“Beaver Dam Pond, Acadia National Park” – Richard Estes
“Dragon Cement Co., Thomaston, Maine II” – Yvonne Helene Jacquette
Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, 105 Botanical Gardens Drive, Boothbay ($22 admission for adults)
“Pine and Moon” – David Driskell
“Gulf Hagas” – Joel Babb
“Twilight at Stroudwater” – Charles Frederick Kimball
“Two Boys in a Canoe” – Neil Welliver
“Practice Winter” – Emily Mason