Business was different 50 years ago when Smart Studio opened in Northeast Harbor. “We opened from nine am to noon during the week, as there were very few tourists back then” according to founder Wini Smart. Business was brisk for the artist as the summer folk shopped in town to collect their newspaper and groceries. Afternoons were devoted to painting on location to replenish the gallery, five children in tow. “Mom would take us to her favorite painting spots around MDI, she would paint and we would picnic, explore, fish, and play” daughter Gail Cleveland remembers.
Fast forward 50 years to today and one would see some changes at the gallery. Back in 1967 watercolors were hung on fish net and sold for a few dollars. Today the gallery offers much larger works, in oil and watercolor, limited edition prints and cards, gifts, antiques and custom framing. Still offered are the small intimate watercolors painted on location by Wini and Gail.
To celebrate the milestone the gallery is hosting a retrospective show at the Northeast Harbor Library for the month of July. Works on display will include loaned paintings from collectors. There will be a reception for the public on July 20th from 5-7 in the Melon room at the library. The show will be available to view from July 1-30th. Please call the gallery at 276-5152 for more information.
Artemis Gallery in Northeast Harbor is presenting its sixth exhibition of the summer through Aug. 25, featuring work by Juliana Morgan Alvarez, Mark Kindschi, Christopher O’Connor, Donald Rainville, Susan Van Campen and Dietlind Vander Schaaf. The exhibition brings together Alvarez’s ceramic sculpture, Kindschi’s forged and fabricated steel sculpture, O’Connor’s acrylic paintings, Rainville’s oil paintings, Van […]
The Maine Art Gallery in Wiscasset is accepting submissions for “Made in Maine: The Annual Members’ Show,” the gallery’s final exhibition of the season, which will open in September. The gallery is also presenting “Art of Alchemy: Mixed Media and Collage,” an exhibition exploring works that combine multiple materials and approaches. The Maine Art Gallery […]
Shaw Jewelry in Northeast Harbor is presenting a group of exhibitions featuring the work of Robert S. Neuman, Kent Raible, Ernie McMullen and AnaKatarina Design through Aug. 26. “Resounding Color” explores Neuman’s lifelong fascination with color through vibrant paintings, drawings and prints. The exhibition is part of the Robert S. Neuman Centennial Project, celebrating the […]
The Union of Maine Visual Artists is accepting submissions for “Connections,” a juried exhibition scheduled for December at Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick. The exhibition will explore connections in their many forms — theoretical, visual, tactile, psychological and interpersonal, as well as connections found throughout the natural world and within the human body. Throughout art […]
In Castine, gallery b. presented “Figure & Ground,” an exhibition bringing together old and new works, abstraction and figuration, and pieces from the estates of mid-20th-century artists with contemporary artworks that resonate with them. The exhibition explored the artistic relationship between figure and ground — the interplay between a subject and its background, positive and […]
The Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockland will open “Because the Sky is Blue,” an exhibition examining critical histories of painting and the status of painting as a critical practice today, on Oct. 2. Organized by CMCA curator Grant Wahlquist, the exhibition brings together works by artists associated with Maine and voices from outside […]
The Tree That Became Everything August 15 – September 12 This Temporary Space in Thomaston is pleased to present The Tree That Became Everything, a two-person exhibition featuring Sophie Anna Gibbings and Wills Phillips. A public opening reception will be held on Saturday, August 15, from 3-6pm. Does a tree persist long after it […]
Discover artful objects to live with, wear, and cherish! Shop Maine Craft is excited to welcome visitors to the 11th Annual Portland Fine Craft Show in its new home at Lincoln Park on Saturday, August 22, 2026, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. Free and open to the public, the show brings together 100 juried […]
Plein air and Art of Alchemy shows wow the crowd Plein air and Art of Alchemy shows wow the crowd “The annual plein air show at Maine Art Gallery is always something special,” an artist selected for the exhibit commented at the opening reception last Saturday. “We get to go out and do the […]
Receive news and information about Maine artists and events delivered right to your inbox.