Two Chihuly pieces and pair of robins by Ann Craven
One of our favorite places to visit while in Maine is the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland. Aside from their extension collection of works by three generations of the Wyeth Family, they have wonderful special exhibitions. We hoped we’d see the Edward Hopper/Andrew Wyeth exhibit, but it was only up for a short time, and we waited too long.
The White Dory 1955, Andrew Wyeth
Nevertheless, we always like seeing items in the permanent collection. The Farnsworth is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year with an exhibit entitled: New Voices from Maine in American Art. It includes both old and new acquisitions. Also on display was an exhibit of works presented by the Alex Katz Foundation. There is a range of styles and media. I was captivated by the pair of robins, the bright Chihuly glass, and by the new Wyeth acquisition above and these marvelously colorful juice glasses by Janet Fish.
Detail, Fruit Juice Glasses, 2005, Janet Fish
The Alex Katz Foundation gallery highlights several of Katz’s paintings (a cutout of a green cow, for one) plus works by friends and other artists. I like Katz’s pieces and find that his dramatic use of vibrant color draws the eye in.
Poppy, Alex Katz
His foundation’s mission is to encourage newer artists and to give their work greater notice in a museum setting. To date, the Katz Foundation has donated more than 1,000 works to various art museums.
VISIONS OF MAINE
Next door to the Farnsworth is the Blue Raven Gallery. Originally a bank, this red brick building boasts a gorgeous interior with arched windows and a beautiful ceiling. The current exhibit is photography by Peter Ralston.
Gallery interior with Ralston photos
I first came across Mr. Ralston in the pages of Down East magazine, and now I get his weekly e-mail of photographs and commentary. Growing up in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, his next door neighbors were Betsy and Andrew Wyeth. Once he was out of school and working as a photo journalist, the Wyeths enticed him to Maine. He never left, and today lives and works in Rockport. His images capture the beauty and the mystery of the Maine coast.
Sheep in a Boat (Ralston, Down East)
CASUAL LUNCH
On previous trips to Rockland, we’ve enjoyed lobster rolls at the Brass Compass Café. Sadly, at least for us, that space is now Sweet Dirt, a cannabis store. Left adrift, we walked along Main Street until we came to Clan Maclaren. Reminiscent of Ninth Street Bakery in Durham, NC, it’s a simple place and space.
Order your sandwich at the counter, help yourself to ice tea or coffee, and then bus your dishes when you finish. We sat at a table on the street and enjoyed lobster rolls in slightly chewy buns with a pickle and chips on the side. A somewhat unusual presentation, but the lobster was that-morning-fresh and delicate.
Note: Header photo is Cismont 1962 by Lynne Drexler at the Farnsworth Art Museum. Unattributed photos by JWFarrington.
I set myself a goal of reading 12 books from the summer reading list I created. True to form, I did not read all the books on the list, but I read some other good books in addition. Here’s my reading report.
I did well on the fiction side and read seven of the nine titles. They were as follows:
Fiction
Many Rivers to Cross by Peter Robinson(this instead of the listed mystery I discovered I’d already read)
Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls(excellent!)
Hello Beautifulby Ann Napolitano(4 stars)
HorsebyGeraldine Brooks (5 stars)
Trespasses by Louise Kennedy(3 stars)
Trust by Hernan Diaz(appreciated it after I finished it)
The White Ladyby Jacqueline Winspear(Winspear is back on her game!)
Note that I still plan to read This Other Edenand Three.
Nonfiction
As for nonfiction, I still have The Grimkes and The Lobster Coast on my stack. I read a long Atlantic excerpt of The Best Minds and so decided to skip reading the entire book.
(wired.com)
OTHER NOTEWORTHY READS
Fiction
The Majorityby Elizabeth Silver(Supreme Court justice loosely based on RBG, a fast read)
Tom Lakeby Ann Patchett(coming in a future post)
The English Teacherby Lily King
Think of Horses by Mary Clearman Blew
Nonfiction
Left on Tenth by Delia Ephron (memoir of illness & love, coming in a future post)
Giving Up the Ghostby Hilary Mantel (memoir)
The Codebreakerby Walter Isaacson(biography of Jennifer Doudna & history of gene editing; reading currently)
Note: Header image of row of readers is courtesy of lifeisthisway.com
When Hurricane Idalia came barreling toward the Florida Gulf Coast, we watched, worried, and wondered from Maine. Had we been home, we would have once again landed on the doorstep of our good friend in Venice where we sheltered last year during Ian.
Our little island was a lucky place. Idalia left only storm debris and extra water here and there, but no damage to our building or others. Anna Maria Island and downtown Bradenton, however, had significant flooding. A big sigh of relief here and a cautious hope that Florida escapes further big storms this season.
As summer waned, I dove into several more books, and the Chief Penguin and I found some entertaining and some serious viewing. Next week I’ll share an overview of my summer reading.
JUST BECAUSE FICTION
I call this group “just because” fiction, because they are books that I came across or picked up that I might not otherwise have read. But did read. Summer is a time to do something different, read more widely, read remaindered titles, or just dabble with an unfamiliar author. Did I love all these works? No, I didn’t. Did I finish them? Yes, even if in one case, I skimmed a lot. So, proceed with caution.
The English Teacher by Lily King
I got this on deep discount at Sherman’s in Boothbay Harbor because I’m a fan of King’s more recent novels. Published in 2005, The English Teacher is a story of adolescence and of a new marriage. Peter is a high school sophomore with a new set of stepsiblings whom he desperately wants to like and to have like him. His mother, Vida, never a wife until now, is the English teacher and her class is studying Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles.
Vida is struggling in the marriage and her life. Peter gets assigned to her class and discussions there bring to a head Vida’s unresolved issues. King’s writing acutely portrays the anguish of both son and mother. It’s an emotional book and one I found painful at points.
Margreete’s Harbor by Eleanor Morse (2021)
Appropriately for my summer, this is a novel set on the Maine coast from 1955 to 1967. I did not know Eleanor Morse, but she has written several other novels and lives on Peaks Island.
The character who catalyzes events is Margreete, a 70ish woman who is becoming forgetful and showing signs of early dementia. This character alone may be enough for some of a certain age to set the novel aside.
Liddie, Margreete’s daughter, and her husband Harry and their children Eva and Bernie, move from Michigan to start a new life with Margreete. Liddie is a professional cellist and Harry a high school history teacher who holds strong views about the Vietnam War.
This is a domestic novel in the truest sense capturing the small details of daily life as seen from the individual perspective of each family member. I liked parts of it, but found it overly detailed and wished that it had been shorter.
Think of Horses by Mary Clearman Blew
Author Blew (inland360.com)
As a memento of our June trip to Montana, I purchased this novel in Big Fork. Blew is the author of other books and nonfiction. Think of Horses, published in 2022 by the University of Nebraska Press, is the last book in her Montana quartet and set in the present. The other three take place in 1925, 1975, and 2012.
Tam Bowen, a successful romance novelist, has returned to her home county for the summer. An unwed mother at 17, now age 50, she has had no recent contact with her adult son, Rob. Tam relates easily to horses as her deceased father was a consummate horse-breaker, and he trained her. Through horses, she makes the acquaintance of James, a neighbor, and his half brother teenage Calvin.
Tam’s early life story made her the subject of gossip and in some quarters, hatred. Returning to the area, she raises the ire and the violent tendencies of some of her neighbors. These four individuals, Tam, Calvin, James, and even Rob, are all fragile with heartbreak in their histories.
How they deal with each other, and both come together and disconnect, makes for a poignant story set midst the roughness and the beauty of the west. (~JWFarrington)
After all the crime shows, we’d been watching, we needed something lighter and humorous. Red, White & Royal Blue was just the thing, a political rom-com. I hadn’t laughed so much in a long time.
Alex Claremont-Diaz is the son of the U. S. President while Prince Henry of the U.K. is the spare. The two don’t hit if off initially and cause an embarrassing display at a wedding. When they do become involved romantically, they must keep it a secret. With a female president, a Hispanic first son, and a gay couple, this is contemporary comedy. It’s great fun. Highly recommended for relief from everything serious!
Charly, Greta, Wilhelm & Friedhelm (The Telegraph)
Generation War is a German series aired in 2013 that follows five young Berliners as they serve and suffer in the Second World War from 1941 to 1945. When first aired in Germany, it was watched by millions, but also the focus of much public debate.
Greta is a bartender who aspires to become a popular singer; Viktor, a Jew, is her tailor boyfriend; Charlotte (Charly) is enthused about the prospect of nursing at the front, while brothers Wilhelm and Friedhelm are an army officer and an enlisted soldier respectively.
As presented on American TV, the production is in three parts, each about 90 minutes long. Narrated by Wilhelm and told from the German perspective, it contains some of the most brutal and almost physically punishing scenes of war I’ve ever seen.
These 20-year-olds are initially full of idealism for a quick victory and, except for Viktor, accepting of the goals set out by Hitler. They compromise their values, they see and do things that are horrible, and they are rendered emotionally numb by the machinery of war.
This is strong stuff. It’s an excellent series, but one that requires fortitude on the part of the viewer. Highly recommended! For another perspective, here is a review from NPR that appeared in 2014.
Earlier this week, we drove down to Brunswick to Bowdoin College. This campus is one out of central casting with its expansive green and soaring church spires. On this day, the green was being readied for the return of students.
Our mission, however, was to visit the latest exhibit at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art.People Watching: Contemporary Photography since 1965is a wonderful exhibit. Wide ranging in appeal with 120 works by a variety of photographers, most, but not all, Americans. The exhibit is divided into sections featuring photos on the street, at home, at work, and self portraits. Here are a few photos that I particularly liked.
When the Storm Ends I Will Finish My Work 2021 (self portrait by Meryl McMaster)
Woman in Leopard Print 2019 (Quasmi)
SPICY LUNCH
While in Brunswick, we also met my Scarborough cousins for an Indian lunch at Shere Punjab. We four had enjoyed this restaurant last year so returned for a rematch. It’s a small place, welcoming, and looks to be family-run. We began with an order of samosas, and they were excellent, some of the best I’ve had recently.
Entrees range from chicken, shrimp or lamb curry to chicken tikka and chicken masala, along with several vegetarian dishes. You decide your level of spiciness from 1 to 10. Three of us increased our level from what we’d ordered before. I went from a 3 to 4 for my chicken curry (plenty spicy for me), while the Chief Penguin and my cousin had a level 6 on their chicken masala. Add in some papadums, chutney, wedges of garlic naan, and you have a filling, satisfying meal.
Vivienne backed by Rob, Billie & David (amcnetworks.com)
The Chief Penguin and I were addicted to London Kills until we had watched it all. There are 4 seasons and 20 episodes total. Each episode is 45 minutes, and some nights we watched two of them back-to-back.
Every episode, detectives from the elite murder squad race out to the latest crime scene. They examine the body, arrive at their initial determination of cause of death and likely weapon, and then decide who will do the “death knock” visit. None of these cases is straightforward, even if they seem so. There are always individuals with connections that lead to other crimes and corruption or tangled motives and unlikely accomplices.
The detectives are Detective Inspector David Bradford (the boss), Detective Sergeant Vivienne Cole, Detective Constable Rob Brady, and trainee DC Billie Fitzgerald. When the series opens, DI Bradford has just returned from leave. His wife has been missing for months and the case is still open.
In a twist that is typical of this series, Amber, the woman who reports the first murder, appears in a later episode with a purse belonging to Bradford’s wife. Initially, David seems put off by Vivienne’s case comments, but she is sharp and insightful, often with the key observation. Rob is also a good detective and a decent guy who has a personal friendship with the boss. Trainee Billie is talented, but her soft approach to suspects occasionally leads her astray.
They are an appealing team who mostly work together well, and the series is an exciting one. It is fun to see Sharon Small as Vivienne Cole. She played the nondescript but smart Barbara Havers in the Inspector Lynley series. Highly recommended! I’m keen for a Series 5, yet to be announced.
Note: Most photos by JWFarrington. Header photo is Monday Morning, Mother of Two by Elinor Carucci, 2010.
