"Few if any external influences have made themselves more potently felt in American art than the geographic one exhibited by the coast of Maine. There is something characteristically American typified by these rugged, rocky shores, which has been the inspiration of some of our greatest and most truly national paintings." - Art Historian, Ralph Carey

From the early Hudson River School to the birth of American Modernism, painters have been inspired by the cliffs, islands and the play of light and fog of coastal Maine. Over the years this coastal ecology has been interpreted on canvas into realist, expressionist, impressionist and modernist works that reflect each artist's unique vision.  Collectively the artists in this exhibition draw from their direct experience of the magic that is unique to the coastal waters and islands of Maine from Kittery to Quoddy. 

Waves (oil on canvas, 20" x 30")

Maria A' Becket (1840-1904)

Gold Leaf frame, 25" x 35"

Maria A' Becket was a well listed American painter who is cited in many American art references of her era. She was born in 1840 in Portland, Maine, Daughter of Charles Beckett, a Maine Landscape and genre painter. In 1865 she studied with Homer Dodge Martin and later with William Morris Hunt in Boston. She was influenced by the Barbizon painters at Pont Aven and painted with the famous French painter Charles Daubigny during a trip to France. At this time she changed her name to A’ Becket.  Maria A’ Becket was a woman artist far ahead of her time; her palette is strong dense, deep with greens, burnt sienna, deep blues, and a mature loose brushstroke that one seldom acquires in a short artistic career displaying her natural talent as well as the experience gained by studying with the masters of early impressionism. She exhibited at the Boston Art Club in 1875, the National Gallery in 1883 and 1888, and at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts from 1880 to 1884 and the New York’s Women’s Club to name just a few.

An Associate of the National Academy, Alfred Thompson Bricher was known especially for his serene, luminist seascapes, reminscent of works by Fitz Hugh Lane and Martin Johnson Heade. Born April 10,1837, Portsmouth, NH, Bricher grew up in Newburyport, MA. Largely self-taught, Bricher studied art at Lowell Institute, Boston in the 1850's. In the 1860s he followed his contemporaries to the White Mountains, and was active in Boston and Newburyport, MA until 1868 when he moved to New York. He executed his best work during the 1870s-80s when he spent many summers painting on the coasts of Massachusetts, Maine (Monhegan Island), and Rhode Island (1871-76), as well on Long Island, especially at Southampton.

Bricher was a significant second-generation Hudson River School landscapist and marine painter who is considered to be the last of the relevant American luminists. He is best known for his marine paintings depicting New England shorelines, in which crashing waves show the dynamic forces of nature.With ease and finesse he captured the natural ambiance around the ocean and its coasts and the artist’s reverence for the presence of what is before him is apparent.

Today A.T. Bricher is considered one of the finest marine painters of his era, and his work is in great demand because each of his canvases and watercolors show resplendently and with confident brushwork how nature looked during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Born in Liberty, Indiana, Jay Hall Connaway was fascinated by coastal life and marine scenery, an attraction that had profound effects on his life and artwork. After periodically studying at the Art Institute of Indianapolis and at the Art Students League with William Merritt Chase, Connaway traveled throughout the United States.ndertake further study in Paris at the Academie Julian and at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Encouraged by Robert Macbeth (Macbeth Gal., NYC) and artists Paul Dougherty, Emil Carlsen, and Frederick Waugh, he spent 1922-25 painting at Head Harbor, ME. From 1929-31 he was painting in Brittany and Paris, sponsored by Macbeth and Milch. Returning in the midst of the Depression, he and his family settled at Monhegan Island, ME year-round from 1931 until 1947. when they moved to Dorset and then Pawlet, VT. A popular landscape painter with robust brushwork, he gave lectures and demonstrations around the country. He ran a summer school at Monhegan until 1947, and at Dorset, VT until 1966. His work was featured in an unprecedented 85 one-man shows, evidence of his successful and widely renowned career as a skilled sea painter.

Lorraine Lans 

Lobster Cove,

Oil 18 x 18

Donald Allen Mosher

Somes Sound, MDI

Oil on Board 16x12

        

In 1970 Turner began exhibiting his work throughout New England and New York. His work is in private collections throughout the U.S., Canada, England, France, Belgium, Sweden, Saudi Arabia and Australia. Bruce has received over 50 national and regional awards in his career, and is listed in Who's Who in American Art. His work has appeared in "American Artist Magazine", "Monhegan - The Artist's Island" , "The Best of Oil Paintings", and Grumbacher's "Palette Talk". Member: Am Artists Prof League; Copley Soc Boston; North Shore Arts Asn; Chautauqua Art Asn; Salmagundi Club.

Brad paints a variety of landscape scenes from Maine’s dramatic shoreline. His paintings reflect his deep appreciation for the works of many fine artists, including Edward Hopper and the nautical scenes of John Stobart. Brad has been an artist for over 15 years and received his education from the University of Maine in Orono.  He comes from a long line of artists that includes his father and grandparents. He has studied with Carolyn Blish and Don Demers and is a member of the American Society of Marine Artists.

Andre Lucero

Andre paints the Maine landscape by heading out at dawn off the beaten track and discovering the charm the coast has used to seduce painters from Cole to Kent. He is an associate member of the Oil Painters of America and a member of Mid Atlantic Plein Air Painters Association, and The Jack Woodson Sketch Club (plein air painting group, Richmond, Virginia).

After earning a BFA, cum laude, in 1989, Andre worked for more than a decade as a free-lance illustrator. During that time, his illustrations appeared in numerous publications including The New York Times, The Washington Times and many other publications. Despite widespread acclaim (1995 Virginia Press Association Best of Show Award and the 1994 Award of Excellence from the Art Directors' Club of Metropolitan Washington, D.C.), Andre decided to leave the field of illustration and devote his full attention to his first love, painting. Andre Lucero lives and maintains a studio near Richmond, Virginia.

Endless Rhythms (oil on canvas, 12" x 24")
by William Marvin

William Marvin is privileged to be able to capture the ever-changing moods of nature, out in the open, fresh and unspoiled. Bill attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena taking extensive courses in design, drawing, painting and illustration. Upon graduating with honors in 1974 he came to Chicago to begin a challenging career as a graphic designer. Bill started showing his landscapes in 1996 and immediately began to draw attention from collectors. His work embodies dynamic compositions and an impressionistic use of color. The results are paintings that are vibrant with light and energy. He has painted throughout the Midwest and the Southwest, and most recently the Maine Coast and Acadia National Park. Bill’s artwork hangs in private and corporate collections throughout the United States.

Turbulence                  11 x 14 Oil on Canvas

Keith Schneider

Keith Schneider grew up in rural Connecticut surrounded by woods and fields yet within walking distance of Long Island Sound. Now living and painting en plein air on the coast of Maine and Islesboro, his vibrantly colored canvases with bold powerful brush strokes are a reflection of his connection to Nature. "I feel that the greatest gift that we can have in life is to be doing what we love to do and sharing that love with others. The solitude and inner peace I find at the water's edge melds into my work … clouds come and go, the tide ebbs and flows, the light and sounds and wind and colors constantly change and when the painting is complete it represents a time capsule that was forever changing and evolving, a mirror of the incredible gift of the miracle of life."

The Island, Blue Hill Bay
Gail Cleveland

Gail Cleveland daughter of well-known Maine artist, Wini Smart, has been painting all her life. She spends her summer on Mount Desert Island and winters in the Narrows where she paints pleine air landscapes of Acadia and surrounding areas in all four seasons.  A hiking enthusiast, Gail has painted large watercolors reflecting the picturesque beauty of the peninsula as seen from atop Blue Hill.