“Pemaquid Reflections,” by Kathleen Horst (Courtesy photo)
The Pemaquid Art Gallery will be open Memorial Day weekend, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, May 27 through Monday, May 29.
Official summer season begins on Friday, June 2 and the gallery will be open daily through Oct. 9.
The Pemaquid Art Gallery is one of the longest continuous seasonal art exhibitions in Maine, celebrating 95 years in 2023. In 1928, Frederick Detwiller, New York artist and Pemaquid summer resident, believed the work of several local fishermen should be seen by the public. Detwiller and a group of local artists banded together to form what would become the Pemaquid Group of Artists.
After four years at Hanna’s Garage, the exhibitions were held at various locations in the community. In the late 1950’s, the artwork was displayed in the lightkeeper’s house at Pemaquid Point.
The current Pemaquid Art Gallery building was constructed in 1960 through the joint support of the artists’ group and the Town of Bristol. The architects were also artists in the group. Prominent artist Gene Klebe led the efforts for construction of the gallery to insure that artists of the region would have a permanent place to display their art.
Membership has always been comprised of local artists. Currently, juried membership is limited to residents of Lincoln County. While all of the members are local, much of their work has been shown in impressive national and international forums, as well as online.
The 2023 exhibiting artists are Barbara Applegate, of Bristol; Debra Arter, of Damariscotta; Stephen Busch, of South Bristol; John Butke, of Boothbay; Dianne Dolan, of Round Pond; Gwendolyn Evans, of Walpole; Peggy Farrell, of New Harbor; Sarah Fisher, of Damariscotta; Claire Hancock, of Damariscotta; Kay Sawyer Hannah, of New Harbor; Kathleen Horst, of Damariscotta, Hannah Ineson, of Damariscotta; Will Kefauver, of Damariscotta; Jan Kilburn, of Damariscotta; Barbara Klein, of Bristol; Patti Leavitt, of Bristol; Sally Loughridge, of South Bristol; Judy Nixon, of Bristol; Charles Nowell, of Boothbay; Alexandra Perry-Weiss, of Bristol; Paul Sherman, of Damariscotta; Marnie Sinclair, of Damariscotta; Gary Smith, of Round Pond; Cindy Spencer, of Wiscasset; Valerie Thomas, of Waldoboro; Liliana Thelander, of Bristol; Kimberly Skillin Traina, of Edgecomb; Barbara Vanderbilt, of Whitefield; Bob Vaughan, of Bristol; Candace Vlcek, of Jefferson; Carol Wiley, of Newcastle; and Sherrie York, of Bristol.
Each artist has an individual panel or space for his or her work. In addition, there are numerous unframed and matted artworks in the bins. The Pemaquid Group of Artists maintains the gallery through commissions, patron donations, and membership fees. The group provides financial aid each year to visual arts programs in several local schools. A daily pass to the Portland Museum of Art is available to the public at the Skidompha Library, through the generosity of gallery patrons and artist donated paintings.
For more information, go to pemaquidartgallery.com.
