Historic Pemaquid Art Gallery opens for the season

The Pemaquid Art Gallery’s official summer season begins on June 3. The gallery will remain open daily through Oct. 10.

The Pemaquid Art Gallery is one of the longest continuous seasonal art exhibitions in Maine. In 1928, Frederick Detwiller, New York artist and Pemaquid summer resident, was impressed with the paintings of several local fishermen and believed their work 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.

The first exhibition was organized in a gallery established in a space over the Clifton Hanna Garage in New Harbor and included the art of Simon Blaisdell, Frederick Detwiller, Parker Gamage, Dr. William Harvey, Guy H. Thompson, Milfred Bowman, George Knipe and Guy Martin.

After four years at Hanna’s Garage, the exhibitions were held at various locations in the community, including the Willing Workers Hall, the Knights of Pythias Hall, a bowling alley in the Surf Casino, rooms over the New Harbor barbershop and The Mavooshen Elementary School. In the late 1950s, 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, Alfred and Priscilla Dalmas, 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, membership is limited to resident artists in Lincoln County. Once juried in, artists may become lifetime members. While all of the members are residents of Lincoln County, much of their work has been shown in national and international venues. While the group places no restrictions on other places or galleries where artists can show, the Pemaquid Art Gallery is usually considered home to most members.

The 2022 exhibiting artists include Barbara Applegate, Bristol, Debra Arter, Damariscotta, Bruce Babb, Damariscotta, Julie Babb, Damariscotta, Stephen Busch, South Bristol, John Butke, Boothbay, Dianne Dolan, Round Pond, Gwendolyn Evans, Walpole, Peggy Farrell, New Harbor, Sarah Fisher, Damariscotta, Claire Hancock, Damariscotta, Kay Sawyer Hannah, New Harbor, Kathleen Horst, Damariscotta, Hannah Ineson, Damariscotta, Will Kefauver, Damariscotta, , Jan Kilburn, Damariscotta, Barbara Klein, Bristol, Patti Leavitt, Bristol, Sally Loughridge, South Bristol, Judy Nixon, Bristol, Alexandra Perry-Weiss, Bristol, Belva Ann Prycel, Damariscotta, Paul Sherman, Damariscotta, Marnie Sinclair, Damariscotta, Gary Smith, Round Pond, Cindy Spencer, Wiscasset, Liliana Thelander, Bristol, Kimberly Skillin Traina, Edgecomb,  Barbara Vanderbilt, Whitefield, Bob Vaughan, Bristol, Candace Vlcek, Jefferson, and Sherrie York, 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. As a nonprofit, 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, visit www.pemaquidartgallery.com.