Acadia Family Center launches online auction to support art therapy program

The Acadia Family Center has launched its 2021 online auction to benefit its programs. The benefit auction closes Sept. 6 at 11:59 p.m. Registration is free; the auction link is at www.acadiafamilycenter.org. 

The auction features a distinguished roster of Maine artists working in a range of mediums, from a Carini planter by Lunaform to a signed print and book by renowned naturalist Bernd Heinrich. A Richard Estes silkscreen print of one of his signature city scenes, Judy Taylor’s painting of Mount Katahdin, a watercolor Clouds over Bartlett Island by Eric Hopkins and a waterfall by photographer Paul Caponigro are among the offerings. 

Of special note is “Irises,” a painting by renowned artist and illustrator Ashley Bryan. The painting, recently on display at the Maine State House, is now on display at Shaw Gallery in Northeast Harbor. The proceeds from the sale of “Irises” will benefit both the Ashley Bryan Center and AFC. A selection of auction pieces is also available for view at the Acadia Family Center by appointment. Contact Nikolai Fox at [email protected] or 207 244-4012.

The auction also showcases a number of Mount Desert Island-area artists working in oil, watercolor, photography and other media. They include Scott Baltz, Liddy Hubbell, Philip Frey, Terry Hilt, Carol Shutt, Joanna Logue, Mary Barnes, Olga Merrill, Susan Amons, Rick Osann, Gail Cleveland and Nancy Andrews. Philip Koch, Sam Minot and Michael Torlen offer work inspired by Acadia.  

The auction received contributions from several private collectors as well as from island galleries, including Artemis and Wini Smart in Northeast Harbor. Courthouse Gallery in Ellsworth donated a watercolor by William Muir (1902-1964). The auction also features a watercolor by Sara Weeks Peabody (1926-2016) and a Longfellow poetry broadside illustrated and signed by Dahlov Ipcar (1917-2017). Several pieces were framed by Union River Art & Frame in Ellsworth.

The Acadia Family Center is a nonprofit outpatient treatment center for individuals and families struggling with the disease of addiction and mental health disorders. AFC is dedicated to the treatment, recovery and wellness of individuals and the community. Located in Southwest Harbor since 1988, AFC is the only agency on Mount Desert Island licensed for the outpatient treatment of substance use disorders. Art therapy is an important part of substance use and mental health treatments.