May 27-October 16, 2022
The Gulf of Maine exhibit, created by the Searsport District High School Fall 2021 Marine Science Students, complements the artifacts and stories of the Gone Fishing exhibit in Old Town Hall. It identifies six current issues in the Gulf of Maine, including bycatch, sharks, green crabs, and the impact of warming waters.
May 27-October 16, 2022
The foyer of the Stephen Phillips Memorial Library offers an overview of the major photography collections and photographers with biographies, examples of work, and related ephemera. A large digital display features a rotating slideshow showing highlights from the archive. On weekdays, visitors are welcomed into the photo archives where there are additional displays, and they can observe and interact with staff and volunteers.
May 27-October 16, 2022
Blue Bottom, oil on canvas by Colin Page
Picturing Penobscot Bay, guest curated by Carl Little, will feature around 40 works of art that share a strong connection to — and/or vision of — Penobscot Bay. Featured artists are Nancy Morgan Barnes, M. J. Bronstein, Molly Brown, David Dewey, Gregory Dunham, Sarah Faragher, Anina Porter Fuller, Brita Holmquist, Eric Hopkins, Jill Hoy, Scott Moore, Colin Page, Stefan Pastuhov, and Robert Pollien. Along with contemporary works, Picturing Penobscot Bay will also include a selection of historical paintings related to Penobscot Bay from the Museum’s collection. Historical artists include Waldo Peirce, Percy Sanborn, Dolly Smith, William Pierce Stubbs, Paul Stubing, and George Wasson.
May 27-October 16, 2022
An LL Bean worker trims a hunting boot under the watchful eyes of a moose mount. 1952 LB2017.19.41330. Photo by Kosti Ruohomaa, Black Star©
Kosti Ruohomaa: The Maine Assignments explores the ways that Mainers lived, celebrated, made their livings, recreated, and communicated. While many of Ruohomaa’s most iconic images stand on their own, he approached his assignments with a photo essay in mind – telling the story through a series of photographs. This exhibit embraces that approach and presents his assignments through the eye of a magazine editor. It allows a deeper look at Ruohomaa’s work and technique and helps viewers gain more insight into the man and his photographs. Kosti Ruohomaa: The Maine Assignments has been funded in part by generous support from lead sponsor L.L. Bean, and Camden National Wealth Management and Allen Insurance and Financial.
May 27-October 16, 2022
Crews of Ross tugboats BISMARCK and WALTER ROSS on Lobster Claw Wharf at Fort Point, Stockton Springs. Captain William Abbott Collection, LB2014.7.33
Capt. Abbott was an avid collector of photographs; PMM’s new exhibit, Up River: Selections from the Captain Bill Abbott Collection picks out some highlights from this archive. When Capt. Abbott passed away in 2014, he left Penobscot Marine Museum his treasured collection, where it is being digitized and preserved.
This exhibit was generously funded by lead donor Wayne Hamilton, as well as Mr. and Mrs. E. Vance Bunker, Captain Almer and Linda Dinsmore, Captain David Gelinas, Penobscot Bay & River Pilots Association, Penobscot Bay Tractor Tug Company, Captain Prentice Strong, and Captain Duke Tomlin.
In Scaling Up: The Canoa da Picada Plan Goes Full-Size, João Bentes has recreated a workspace to traditionally loft, or scale up from a paper plan to a full size work plan, the “Canoa da Picada,” a Portuguese Sailing Sardine Carrier, in sections. Break the Anchor, a Portuguese nonprofit, is building the “Canoa da Picada” in collaboration with The Apprenticeshop in Rockland, Maine. After construction, launch, and sea trials, the vessel will cross the Atlantic through the Azores, landing on Portuguese shores to establish a seamanship and boatbuilding apprentice-based school in Portugal using the vessel as an itinerant workshop. On display May 25 through October 20, 2019.
Weather or Knot? gives visitors a chance to imagine life at sea in calm and stormy seas. They can watch storm clouds slowly gather and waves and wind increase through a collection of paintings chosen to depict the thirteen wind forces of the Beaufort Scale. Visitors will learn the importance of knot tying, the difference between vessels, as well as sail shapes, configurations, and rigging. Weather or Knot? is sponsored by Diversified Communications with grant support from the Margaret E. Burnham Charitable Trust. On display May 25 through October 20, 2019.
Where in the World? features paintings of Maine cargo ships in foreign ports and the navigational charts that guided the way. Captains and owners commissioned paintings of their vessels as a point of pride to ensure a successful voyage. Today, these port paintings provide viewers with a tour of the ports as they looked in the early- to mid-1800s. Navigational charts with hand-written course notations from the Museum’s collections accompany the port paintings, putting the voyages of Maine sea captains into geographical context. Where in the World? is sponsored by Diversified Communications with grant support from the Margaret E. Burnham Charitable Trust. On display May 25 through October 20, 2019.
Animal Tales uses photographs from the Museum’s extensive photography archives and the intriguing stories behind the images to explore the fascination people have with animals. Since the beginning of photography, people have enjoyed using their lens to forever capture beloved pets, livestock, wildlife, and fishing and hunting successes. The exhibit features a range of photographs from casual snapshots taken by amateur photographers, to carefully conceived photos taken by professional photographers like Kosti Ruohomaa. Animal Tales is sponsored by Sally Savage. On display May 25 through October 20, 2019.
Sponsored by Sally Savage
From the Cradle to the Grave: Mining the Ed Coffin Collection showcases 28 of the more than 2,500 photographs Ed Coffin collected throughout his lifetime. There are many themes to explore in the Coffin collection, but two that stand out as crowd pleasers are ship launches and ship wrecks. The “birth” and “death” of ships have long held the public’s fascination. Most of Maine’s Midcoast towns have been involved in building boats, ships and schooners. Watching the culmination of a year or more of construction and investment has been a spectacle not to be missed. On the flipside, the wreck of a ship evokes entirely different feelings, but the pull to see the tragic scene and to learn the grim story can be just as strong. On display May 25 through October 20, 2019.