Tag: Farnsworth Art Museum

Maine Moments: Art & Drama

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FARNSWORTH ART MUSEUM: PART 1

The Farnsworth Art Museum is in Rockland around two hours north of Portland.  It’s noted for its extensive collection of works by three generations of the Wyeth family and its focus on Maine and artists working in Maine.  The Chief Penguin and I visit this museum annually; this time our motivation was a new exhibit of Jamie Wyeth’s work, but more about that exhibit in a future blog post.

This week we enjoyed Magwintegwak: A Legacy of Penobscot Basketry, were impressed by Louise Nevelson’s paintings and sculpture, and were introduced to a tsunami of color in Lynne Drexler’s recently restored pieces, Color Notes, Paintings from 1959-1969.

WABANAKI BASKETS

The Penobscot Indian Island Reservation, informally known as Indian Island, was the site of basket weaving going back to 1800. North of Rockland along the Penobscot River, part of it extends to Bangor.  Wabanaki weavers here made a variety of baskets for daily life as well as more decorative artistic ones.  For many years, they set up basket-selling tents on well-traveled routes and sold their handmade creations to tourists and others. Their baskets were, and still are, generally made of brown ash and lovely fragrant sweetgrass.  

Curly bowl Penobscot basket, 1920
Glowing Sunset Carrabbassett, Sarah Sockbeson, 2011

Robert Anderson spent much of his life collecting and documenting the basketry of these Penobscot weavers, learning from his grandparents Leo and Florence Shay and from successive generations of weavers.  It’s thanks to his legacy that this exhibit was possible.  The Wabanaki also made miniature baskets to use or to show off their skills.

Strawberry, blueberry & pumpkin miniatures

LOUISE NEVELSON: SCULPTOR & PAINTER

Child from a collection, Nevelson

Louise Nevelson was born in Ukraine, but grew up in Rockland after her parents emigrated.  Years later, she was astonished and delighted to discover this wonderful art museum in her small hometown.  She donated many of her works to the Farnsworth, and this exhibit is just a sample from the collection.

I liked the small black figures and also her two self portraits. She favored black for virtually all of her sculpted work, but later she created an elaborate and monumental wedding piece in white. The Farnsworth owns one column from it.

Woman with a Red Scarf, self portrait, 1947

COLOR NOTES: “I COULD ALWAYS FIND THE COLOR”

Lynne Drexler (1928-1999) was considered a second-generation Abstract Expressionist whose work was influenced by time spent in Hawaii, California, and Mexico.  She created with colored chalk, crayons, paint, and colored pencils. Later in her life, she lived like a hermit on Monhegan Island. Years after her death, this little known artist’s paintings sold for more than a million dollars.

Shimmering Rays

Some of her works use different materials that make the colors pop and look alive like this vibrant study in pinks, greens, and lavender.

Untitled, Lynne Drexler

WATCHING: SPANISH SOAP

Betrayal (PBS Passport)

Roberto backed by mother and siblings (rmpbs.org)

Passport offerings curated by Walter Presents are generally very good.  I’m less sure about Betrayal, although the Chief Penguin and I seem to be committed enough to keep watching.  We have completed six of the eight episodes.

Influential, well-connected attorney Julio Fuentes and his firm were close to merging with a UK law firm when he died suddenly.  His family—widow, three daughters, and one son—are in disarray when his death is ruled a murder and when another son, Carlos, unknown to them, shows up. 

Emotions in this group run high with shouting, angry outbursts, and hasty actions.  Son Roberto wants to divorce his wife and has another woman; brother-in-law Victor, the firm’s financial manager, has personal money troubles; and sister Almudena’s son Sergio is suspicious of his stepfather’s behavior and believes he’s lying to his mother.  Meanwhile matriarch Pilar works mightily to control everyone’s actions to her bidding.  

This is just a sampling of the layers of complexity, the lies, and the secrets.  Who is betraying whom or how many betrayals are there?  And who killed Julio Fuentes?  Overall, the plot is less than convincing, the characters lack depth, and yet we keep tuning in!  In Castilian Spanish with English subtitles.

Note: Header photo is a point basket by Ganessa Frey, 2006. Unattributed photos by JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)

Maine Time: Rockland Outing

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FARNSWORTH AT 75

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.

Maine Days: Wyeths & Lawyers

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FOR WYETH LOVERS

Farnsworth Art Museum

Along with the the Brandywine River Museum outside Philadelphia, the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland has one of the largest collection of works by the Wyeth family.  Here are works by Andrew Wyeth of Cristina’s World fame, by his son Jamie Wyeth, by Andrew’s father, N. C. Wyeth, and some by other Wyeth relatives.  This year’s featured exhibit is works from Betsy Wyeth’s estate, a gift to the museum.  Betsy, wife of Andrew, died in 2020 at the age of 98.

Islander by Jamie Wyeth
Fisherman’s Family by N. C. Wyeth
Wicker by Jamie Wyeth

I was also struck by a couple of works in their permanent Maine collection, a striking woman in white and a still life of intense golden flowers.

Kym in White by Alex Katz
Orange Prince by Beverly Hallam

Another highlight for me this year was the Women of Vision exhibit.  It focuses on thirteen women who are either artists or patrons of the art whose work and/or philanthropy has ties to Maine.  Some are historical figures like Edna St. Vincent Millay, one was a Passamaquoddy basket weaver, while others like photographer and gardener Cig Harvey are actively working.  I was particularly struck by a charming strawberry basket.

By Molly Neptune Parker

PERFECT FOR AN AIRPLANE FLIGHT

A Good Mother by Lara Bazelon

Author Bazelon is a law professor who also spent seven years as a federal public defender in Los Angeles.  She knows how the federal court system works and has penned a fascinating and gripping courtroom drama set in LA.  This is her first novel.

Lead defense lawyer Abby Rosenberg is a bit of a hot shot who utilizes bold and sometimes questionable techniques to win her cases.  She is also a new mother still on maternity leave.  Her client, Luz Rivera Hollis, is a nineteen-year-old accused of murdering her soldier husband at an army base in Germany.  She too is a new mother to infant Cristina.  Abby’s co-counsel, Will Ellet, is young, ambitious, and unsettled in his marriage.  You may wonder about the ethics and behaviors of these lawyers, but their actions make for a good story!  What exactly constitutes being a good mother?

Note: Photos by JWFarrington (some rights reserved). Header photo is cone flowers at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.