Award-winning Maine Boat Builder in Film at Penobscot Marine Museum

Ralph Stanley: An Eye for Wood is a moving documentary on the extraordinary life of world-renowned Maine Master Boat Builder Ralph Stanley. Stanley, the son of a lobsterman, grew up on Mt. Desert Island and began building wooden boats in the early 1950’s. He has built more than 70 fine wooden boats including working lobster boats, Friendship sloops, lobster boats, yachts, dories, and rowboats. In 1999 Stanley received a National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship, recognizing his artistic excellence and contribution to our national traditional arts heritage.

Ralph Stanley is well-known not just for his boats, but also as a master story-teller, genealogist, and musician.  Award-winning Maine Filmmaker Jeff Dobbs tells the story of the entire Stanley family, their importance to American and Maine craftsmanship, and their way of life on Mount Desert Island and the Cranberry Isles in the twentieth century.

Ralph Stanley: An Eye for Wood, will be shown Thursday, June 4, 7:00 pm in Penobscot Marine Museum’s Douglas and Margaret Carver Memorial Art Gallery, 11 Church Street, Searsport, Maine.  Tickets are $8; $5 for museum members.  Call 207-548-0334 for tickets or click here to purchase online.