For those of us who are not snow bunnies, what are we to do after looking in wonder at all that accumulation? (Last week when things warmed up to 30, I thought the great thaw had begun – alas, not so as eight more inches descended just yesterday.) The answer, as to so many questions, is art!
Surprisingly, Maine boasts seven art museums. A sojourn with great panache would trace the Maine Art Museum Trail to include the Bates College Museum of Art in Lewiston, the Bowdoin College Museum of Art in Brunswick, the Colby College Museum of Art in Waterville, the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, the Oguinquit Museum of American Art, the Portland Museum of Art, and the University of Maine Museum of Art in Bangor.
These museums display works by artists who were inspired by Maine as well as renowned masters, such as Degas, Renoir and Picasso. We attended a special exhibit on Robert Indiana at the Farnsworth. Mr. Indiana now lives in Maine — by the way, that is not his real name – he changed it to something everyone could remember. If you read this post, you will now remember Robert Indiana as the artist who painted LOVE. If you don’t recall the painting, I am sure you remember the stamp – a lot of brides used it for their wedding invites.
Robert Indiana's LOVE
All in all, I believe the best bangs for the buck are the art museums at private colleges – the art building is usually very appealing, the art is given by wealthy alumni, there are few visitors so you can allow a piece to speak to you for hours on end and no one will care, and the museums generally are free to encourage those few visitors.
Think ART,
Diana
