“Sparkling Summer Days,” an exhibition of American and European art celebrating the brilliant warm light and long evenings of summertime, will open on July 25 at the Wiscasset Bay Gallery. The show will coincide with Wiscasset’s monthly Art Walk when the village comes alive with musical performances, street vendors and gallery openings.
Among the highlights of the exhibition is a rare collection of oil paintings from the estate of Jay Hall Connaway (American, 1893-1970). Connaway lived year round on Monhegan Island from 1931 to 1947 and painted the remote isle in every season and weather condition. “Lobsterman at Monhegan Headland” is a particularly bright and sunny work for the taciturn artist and captures a classic Maine summer day with deep blue seas, frothy waves and towering cliffs. Connaway had 85 one-man shows during his career and has work in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Farnsworth Art Museum, Monhegan Museum, as well as many others.
Contrasting Connaway’s blue sky day is Jean Liberte’s (American, 1896-1965) casein painting of a sparkling summer evening with moonlight reflecting off the calm water and an anchored schooner. The Monhegan lighthouse is seen perched atop a series of boldly painted ledges creating additional drama to the strong composition. Liberte’s works are in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Sailing across the Atlantic to the dappled sunlit boulevards of Paris is the work of Edouard Henry-Laurent (French, 1859-1907). Henry-Laurent depicts elegantly dressed ladies in hats and parasols strolling along the Rue de Courcelles against the backdrop of the Pantheon. A fellow Frenchman, Rene Zimmerman (1904-1991) continues the theme of Parisian street life in his oil “Quay de Passy.” Classic views of Venice, Italy, in oils and watercolors are represented by American and European artists alike.
Additional artists included in the exhibition are William Thon (American, 1906-2000), Stephen Etnier (American, 1903-1984), Morris Shulman (American, 1912-1978), Robert Indiana (American, 1928-2018), Emmanuel Mane-Katz (French/Ukrainian, 1894-1962), Pierre Bonnard (French, 1867-1947) and Jean Louis Forain (French, 1852-1931).
“Sparkling Summers Days” will be on display through Aug. 28 at the Wiscasset Bay Gallery. For more information, call 207-882-7682, or visit the gallery’s website at wiscassetbaygallery.com. The Wiscasset Bay Gallery is open daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 75 Main Street (Route One) in historic Wiscasset Village.
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