"Stories of Maine: An Incomplete History" by Diana Greenwold and Amy Johnson
This article originally appeared in the Winter 2020 issue of PMA Magazine
Diana Greenwold is the Curator of American Art and Amy Johnson is the Associate Educator for Interpretation at the Portland Museum of Art.
Zeke the museum dog is the first greeter you will encounter at the Rangeley Outdoor Heritage Museum, one institution of many that the team creating Stories of Maine: An Incomplete History visited during the two-year long process of selecting 20 stories to represent 200 years of Maine statehood. On a day trip to Rangeley, we met Zeke and the museum’s director Bill Pierce. Together, we combed the displays for ideal materials to help bring stories of the region to Portland as part of the PMA’s contribution to the state’s bicentennial celebrations. A mounted moose head? A bit too heavy. A group of fishing creels? Too delicate. We eventually settled on an ornate group of fishing flies, a fishing rod, and a commemorative paddle that will introduce many contemporary audiences to two women who helped Maine become a destination for outdoor recreation: Carrie Stevens and Flyrod Crosby. These objects are just a small sampling of the types of materials that the team has been gathering from all over the state.
Left: PMA visit to Monhegan Museum of Art and History. Center: Rangeley Outdoor Heritage Museum. Right: Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village
What is the story of Maine and who gets to tell it? This year, institutions all over the state will be exploring 200 hundred years of statehood in Maine and trying to answer that question. As part of this effort, the PMA came together with a group of museums in 2017 to discuss how institutions could be a part of the state’s commemorative activities. As one of Maine’s largest art museums, the PMA proposed a project to leverage its resources and expertise while expanding the narratives and objects that the museum typically exhibits. Knowing that it is impossible to encompass the full story of Maine within any one gallery space, we began to contemplate a selection of 20 stories that speak to Maine’s past and also relate to how people live, work, and create communities in the varied landscapes of this state today.
To embark on this new venture, we partnered with the Maine Humanities Council and formulated the parameters of the exhibition. Two advisory panels, one in the north and one in the south, were organized to help select objects and themes. Over four meetings at the museum and the Bangor Public Library, representatives from several organizations gathered to share suggestions for stories, objects, and themes. The meetings were structured to allow for expansive conversations and the show took shape through these discussions.
William Capen Jr., Painters, Glaziers, and Brush Makers Banner, Portland, 1841, oil on linen, 35 x 40 inches. Collections of Maine Historical Society, purchased by a coalition of Maine Museums.
William Capen Jr., Boot and Shoe Makers Banner, Portland, 1841, oil on linen, 40 x 44 1/2 inches. Collections of Maine Historical Society, purchased by a coalition of Maine Museums.
Advisors challenged the team to take on not only celebratory aspects of the state’s history, but also to address more painful aspects of Maine’s past. So, for example, while laudatory moments such as the reinvigoration of Wabanaki basketmaking will be rightly championed in the exhibition with works by young Indigenous artists such as Sarah Sockbeson, painful chapters in Maine’s history, such as the suppression of Native voting rights until the 1950s, will also come to the fore in powerful ways.
Equally important to the process of gathering stories and developing themes was the open call that the PMA made available on its website, in which members of the public could submit their own objects for consideration. Many of the entries have been personal stories of beloved camps or cherished family heirlooms related to Maine. Others, such as the black oxford apple, represent the region’s agriculture and its industries. This forum is still open for anyone interested in submitting their own Maine story.
Osgood Carleton (United States, 1741–1816), An Accurate Map of the District of Maine, Being Part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1799, engraved and printed, with hand-applied gouache and watercolor, 52 3/4 x 37 3/8 inches. Courtesy of the Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education, University of Southern Maine, American Textile History Museum Collection. Image courtesy Osher Map Library.
To select objects, we also traveled to institutions such as the Maine Maritime Museum, the Shaker Museum and Library, the Dexter Historical Society, and the Osher Map Library. The result is an exhibition that reflects the input of a wide range of contributors and communities, and tells stories that encompass the region’s history—from a land originally inhabited by Wabanaki nations, to early European settlements at Pemaquid, up through the narratives of new Mainers who bring a wealth of experiences to the state. The works on view range from a 1906 Old Town canoe that provides a way to explore the importance of Maine’s rivers and its native-born industries, to an oil lamp from Monhegan’s first lighthouse, to a contemporary assemblage by Daniel Minter exploring the history of African- American populations on Malaga Island. Arts, cultures, and industries on view each provide a unique lens on what it means to be “from Maine.”
Individuals from across the state will use their expertise to interpret how the histories of these objects speak to contemporary aspects of life in Maine. The final voice of the exhibition will be that of our members and visitors. The Workshop on the PMA’s Lower Ground Floor will transform into a recording studio and listening lounge for visitors to record and share their personal Maine stories. This recording booth will showcase the fact that there’s no way to encompass all the stories of Maine. We hope that this platform will invite a feeling that Maine Stories: An Incomplete History is a collective endeavor where all voices are valued.