“Fresh Paint and Recent Acquisitions” will opened May 25 at the Wiscasset Bay Gallery in celebration of the gallery’s 40th season. Featuring a diverse and eclectic collection of works by artists from Denmark, Croatia, France, Italy, Great Britain and the United States, the exhibition spans three centuries.
The show is on view through June 30.
Among the highlights of the show is a richly detailed and vibrant oil by Stephen Etnier (1903-1984) capturing the coastal life of South Harpswell on a summer afternoon. A young boy sails a wooden toy boat at the beach against the backdrop of a quiet harbor filled with an array of boats and summer cottages lining the shore. Contrasting Etnier’s sharp, clear realism are the bold, abstracted brushstrokes of James Fitzgerald’s (1899-1971) “Gulls of Monhegan II.” The large dark form of Manana Island looms in the background as a vortex of gulls in flight dominate the foreground in this dynamic, monochromatic watercolor.
On the European front, Einar Wegener’s (Danish, 1882-1931) “Reflecting Pool, Versailles” depicts the estate’s early 18th-century sculpture and vast reflecting pool in impressionist paint strokes while the distant palace and cloud formations dissolve in an atmospheric effect. Wegener, also known as Lili Elbe, was featured in the movie “The Danish Girl.”
Another impressionist oil in the exhibition is by the French artist Jean Eugene Julian Masse (1856-1939). A cross between the subject matter of Barbizon painter Camille Corot and the fractured color of Claude Monet, Masse’s landscape resonates with light and mood. Bronze relief sculptures by Croatian artist Robert Franges-Mihanovic (1872-1940) portray the seasons of spring and autumn with the profiles of women decorated with roses and pine boughs in an art nouveau style. Franges-Mihanovic was a pioneer in modern Croatian sculpture. He was trained in Vienna and later in Paris where he studied with Auguste Rodin.
Among the contemporary Maine art on display is a large oil by Keith Oehmig titled “Island Sentinel” of a lone island house set against the purple black rocks of Manana and a royal blue sea.
Wiscasset Bay Gallery is at 75 Main St., Wiscasset. Call 207-882-7682, email [email protected], or go to www.wiscassetbaygallery.com for more information.
