The Maine Lobster Festival is the place to enjoy fresh lobster at its best. However, did you know the Rockland-based event also is the place to enjoy fine art and crafts? Look for the Fine Arts and Craft Tent, which will house local artisans and crafters who sell items from pottery and paintings to homemade fudge. There you will find treasures to take home that are uniquely “made in Maine.” The festival also features an Open Juried Art Show at Camden National Bank in Rockland all week long.
Midcoast Maine has had a thriving art scene dating back to the 1800s. Many artists, including Winslow Homer, George Bellows and Thomas Cole, have been fascinated with Maine’s rugged coastline, inspiring landscape and seafaring lifestyle. Many of these artists made their homes in Maine. In the 1950s, a new generation of New York artists including Alex Katz and Fairfield Porter began to spend their summers in Maine, producing a new body of artwork associated with the Midcoast lifestyle.
The Farnsworth Museum
The Farnsworth Museum in Rockland opened in 1948, and is home to paintings, prints, sculptures and photography of prominent artists that are associated with Maine or depict life in Maine. The collections have now expanded to include other natural beauty across the nation such as Niagara Falls and the Rocky Mountains.
The museum owns a large collection of the Wyeth family’s work that embodies life in midcoast Maine. The family came to Maine in the 1920s and started a tradition of painting that includes subjects like lighthouses, boats, shorelines and the sea. They also depicted the lives of fishermen and farmers in their work. The Farnsworth Museum has paintings by N.C., Andrew and Jamie Wyeth housed in its permanent collection and in the Wyeth Center.
Art Galleries Galore in Rockland
Rockland is home to many eclectic art galleries. AIR, or Arts in Rockland, was created to showcase Rockland as an arts destination for those who appreciate or collect fine art. This group organizes first Friday art walks in the summer, opening-night receptions and special art events throughout the year. On art walks you can explore galleries and appreciate fine art. Many local artists own their own studios and offer classes for those who want to take their art to the next level.
The Maine Lobster Festival takes place this year on July 29 through August 2. Don’t miss your opportunity to enjoy fresh lobster and also support fine arts and local artists by browsing the Fine Arts and Craft Tent.
