Join us for an open house featuring our 2023 photo exhibit, Sam Murfitt and Maine’s Working Waterfronts and our new permanent exhibit, Rusticators on the Water.

Photographer Sam Murfitt has spent most of his life connected with the water—while making photographs, building boats, and working for fishing publications. For decades, he has photographed fishermen, their work, and their boats, and in that work, has come to see their way of life as finite and fleeting. His images document that lifestyle and offer a window into Maine’s working waterfronts and boatbuilding traditions. Sam Murfitt and Maine’s Working Waterfronts has been generously sponsored by Hamilton Marine.

When Rusticators flocked to Maine in the late 19th to mid-20th centuries, they sought a rustic vacation to retreat from their busy city lives. To get on the water, they commissioned locally-built small wooden boats: rowboats for exploration, daysailers for picnics, and racing boats for yacht club competitions. This exhibit showcases the Maine-built boats at the heart of the rusticating culture and explores their enduring impact. Rusticators on the Water has been generously supported by the Margaret E. Burnham Charitable Trust.

Free and open to the public

Photo: Lobstermen pose with their winning lobster boat racing trophies. Photograph by Sam Murfitt.