“Sets a new standard for museum publications in Maine. Handsomely designed, gorgeously illustrated, and impressively documented, Maine in America also establishes the Farnsworth as a regional art museum ambitious for... [continued in Reviews below]”—Down East Magazine

A lavish selection of nearly 250 works from the Farnsworth Museum's permanent collection.

Mount Desert, Monhegan Island, Ogunquit, Mount Katahdin, Camden Harbor, the Allagash -- these names evoke varied images of Maine -- images created by such artists as Frederic E. Church, Winslow Homer, Rockwell Kent, John Marin, and Edward Hopper. For much of the 19th and 20th centuries, Maine served as both host and inspiration for a remarkable number of artists. It has been represented in almost every style and medium -- the luminist landscapes of Fitz Hugh Lane, impressionist seascapes of Willard Metcalf, abstractions by John Marin, and the realism of Andrew Wyeth's work.

For 50 years, the Farnsworth Art Museum has collected expressions of Maine by these artists and others. Works by Washington Allston, Thomas Cole, Thomas Eakins, William Harnett, Martin Johnson Heade, George Inness, Robert Salmon, Gilbert Stuart, Thomas Sully, and others attest to the depth of the Museum's 19th century collection. The 20th century is richly represented by Will Barnet, George Bellows, Marsden Hartley, Robert Henri, Robert Indiana, Louise Nevelson, Neil Welliver, Marguerite and William Zorach, and especially the Wyeth family. The museum's holdings of American impressionists are especially strong, with works by Frank Benson, Joseph DeCamp, Childe Hassam, Maurice Prendergast, and John Twachtman.

Maine in America presents a lavish selection of nearly 250 works from the Farnsworth's permanent collection of paintings, watercolors, and sculpture and traces the development of art in Maine within the larger context of American art.

Reviews / Endorsements

“Sets a new standard for museum publications in Maine. Handsomely designed, gorgeously illustrated, and impressively documented, Maine in America also establishes the Farnsworth as a regional art museum ambitious for national attention . . . As a physical object, [the book] is as tasteful as the art it chronicles . . . Any reader with a serious interest in Maine art will want Maine in America on the bookshelf.” —Down East Magazine

“The [Farnsworth] museum's curator, Pamela J. Belanger, completed several years' research . . . culminating in this testament to the state's far reaching grip on American hearts and minds . . . Most impressive, Maine in America features eighty-four color plates, each with a description, as well as additional works by each artist reproduced in black and white . . . With insightful descriptions of composition and paint handling to boot, this section is as thorough as any other scholarly publication, but exceedingly more engaging.”—E. Lynne Moss, American Artist

“A compelling narrative that traces the development of art in Maine within the larger context of American art and presents over 200 works from the museum's permanent collection.”—Bangor (ME) Daily News

“Catalogs with scholarly flair the highlights of the Farnsworth's collection . . . This lavish book, with concise, informative text, is part of an impressive expansion recently undertaken, both physically and curatorially, by the museum.”—Art New England

“The Farnsworth has grown into a gem of a regional museum. It now has one of the premier collections of American art north of Boston, with special strengths of exemplary works by all the major artists who painted in Maine. One will find here some of our great national artists, who illuminate the full spectrum and development of our artistic traditions.”—John Wilmerding, Princeton University

PAMELA J. BELANGER is Curator at the Farnsworth; she is also the author of Inventing Acadia: Artists and Tourists at Mount Desert (also distributed by UPNE). CHRISTOPHER B. CROSMAN is Director of the Farnsworth. WILLIAM H. GERDTS is Professor of Art History at CUNY and author of numerous books, including William Glackens (1996) and Art Across America (1995).