Maine and American Art

(Hardback)

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Description

Published on the occasion of Maine's bicentennial, the book considers more than 200 major artworks of American art from the Farnsworth Art Museum's impressive holdings and details how the state has figured prominently in the development of American art. The volume includes artists as diverse as Andrew Wyeth, Marsden Hartley, Georgia O'Keeffe, Francesco Clemente, Robert Rauschenberg, and Alex Katz, among others. Through their work, a fascinating depiction of the state--and indeed of the development of American art--emerges. In addition to the more than 200 artworks, the volume will feature two historic sites: the Farnsworth Homestead (the National Register of Historic Places home of founder Lucy Copeland Farnsworth) and the National Historic Landmark Olson House, inspiration for some 300 works by Andrew Wyeth, including Christina's World. The book also considers the founder Lucy Copeland Farnsworth's distinctive vision to create a museum, library, and historic house, placing her among the few and still under-recognized women who created museums throughout the United States in the early twentieth century.

Reviews

"The straightforward title might suggest a straightforward survey of the Farnsworths collection, but not soCollectively, [the books] tell[s] the story of two centuries of Maine art from a variety of angles. The fascinating first chapter isnt much about artwork at all: its a fresh evaluation supported by recently discovered correspondence of Lucy Copeland Farnsworths effort at willing an ambitious art museum into existence in Rockland." DownEast.com

"Guided by the museums mission to celebrate Maines role in American art, the book features a diverse range of American artists from Marsden Hartley, Winslow Homer, and Georgia OKeeffe to Francesco Clemente, Robert Rauschenberg, and Alex Katz. Through more than 200 images, the story of the Farnsworth Art Museum is told variously through monographic chapters devoted to Jonathan Fisher, the Wyeth family, Louise Nevelson, and Robert Indiana, among others; thematic chapters, including Maines landscape, its many industries, and important inhabitants; and includes important areas of concentration in the Farnsworth collection, such as watercolors and photography." ARTFIXDAILY.COM

"...an expansive 384-page volume devoted to the Farnsworth collection...In it, the rich and full picture of Maines central role in American art from the early 19th century to the present is chronicled." CAMDEN HERALD

Author Bio

Michael K. Komanecky is chief curator at the Farnsworth Art Museum, in Rockland, Maine. Jane Bianco is curator at the Farnsworth Art Museum. Angela Waldron is registrar at the Farnsworth Art Museum.