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The Oct. 7 opening reception for the Doucett New Art Gallery at Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick brought out almost 100 supporters to celebrate its collection of original works by local artists.
The pieces were chosen to “reflect the experience, culture and history of the surrounding community,” Kristen Jhamb, a member of both the library’s board and the selection committee, said at the event. Of the 13 artists represented, more than two-thirds have significant connections to Harpswell.
From Bailey Islander C. Susan Ferraro’s hooked wall hanging with its three-dimensional lobster antennae protruding from hand-dyed yarn to Richard Keen’s abstract exploration of Harpswell’s trails to Nat Wheelwright’s joyful “Pammy’s Ice Cream Parlor, Dream II,” many of the pieces on display explore the people and places of Harpswell.
Mary Kate Kwasnik, the recently designated art engagement librarian at Curtis, said she wasn’t surprised at the quantity or quality of Harpswell art received in response to the library’s first call for art in 30 years.
Kwasnik led a committee comprised of library staff and local art experts who selected the works from 124 submissions.
“There’s got to be something in the water,” she said about Harpswell’s strong representation in the gallery. “Harpswell is just so gorgeous. … It doesn’t surprise me that artists are drawn there or created there.”
The second-floor gallery of 20 works is dedicated to retired Executive Director Elisabeth Doucett, who championed the inclusion of art as a critical aspect of the library’s mission.
The works in the gallery, all purchased or acquired through private donations, reflect an evolving community that includes Brunswick, Harpswell and surrounding areas.
Susan Levine’s 1965 block prints of Brunswick and Topsham neighborhoods once sold as greeting cards throughout New England. Spindleworks, a Brunswick nonprofit that has served adult artists with disabilities since 1976, offered the library Rita Langlois’ 1988 watercolor “Skaters.” Langlois, who died in 2009, was one of Spindleworks’ six original clients, and “Skaters” once graced Maine Gov. John McKernan’s Christmas card.
A series of three black-and-white photographs by David Etnier connects the new gallery to works well known by its patrons. They include a photograph of his father, renowned Harpswell artist Stephen Etnier. Four of Stephen Etnier’s paintings are on display elsewhere in the library, all on long-term loan from Bowdoin College.
For David Etnier, growing up surrounded by art in the house his father built on the western shore of Basin Point jump-started his own development as an artist.
“People who are visually inclined and really appreciate natural beauty are drawn to Harpswell,” he said. “And some of them manifest that love of place in their art. Certainly for my dad that was it. He was quoted as saying, ‘You should paint what you love.’ And he loved Harpswell.”
Tom Brudzinski, of Orr’s Island, contributed “Frank J. Wood: In Transition,” a vibrant depiction of the cranes and construction equipment that recently completed the new bridge over the Androscoggin River.
Two works by up-and-coming Wabanaki artist Marissa Joly, of Durham, speak to the library’s focus on building connections with Indigenous communities.
“We loved Marissa’s work,” Kwasnik said. “It’s so different from anything that we have. I’m really excited we have a few of her pieces.”
Joly’s work showcases bold colors and recurring motifs, like the double curves found in “Sunset on the Presumpscot” that are inherent to Wabanaki culture.
“I feel like my work is a different perspective on what’s always been here — and always is here,” Joly said about how her pieces contrast with the maritime art and coastal views that often dominate Maine’s art scene.
Margaret Leonard grew up in Brunswick and still swims in the waters off Harpswell Neck, where she now lives.
She studied internationally and her art has been shown in galleries and museums throughout Maine. But the inclusion of “Everett Street” in the Doucett New Art Gallery means her work will be permanently displayed in her hometown beside that of an array of artists who share the place-based roots of her inspiration.
“I feel very honored to be one of those,” she said.
