The 2016 Acadia ART Achievement Award goes to Russell and Linda D’Alessio. In the mid-sixties, Russell and Linda D’Alessio were introduced to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park while on vacation. Awe struck by its natural beauty, they knew someday this would become home.
The dream became reality in 1974. With Russ fresh out of art school they packed their VW bug complete with two young sons and moved to Mt. Dersert Island from New Jersey, (in February with no jobs!) Bringing their artistic creativities and passion for the arts with them, Russ, a painter sold some of his originals and prints to local galleries and Linda, her weavings. It was selling these pieces of art that floated them through their first Maine winter and solidified their love for this place.
Living here in Maine has allowed them to pursue their creativity and passion for the arts. In the late 70’s, they opened a screen print company placing Russ’s designs on garments designed by Linda. This line of fashion clothing, jewelry, and decorative accessories sold nationally and internationally including Giverny Gardens, Paris, France
During this same period they formed a side-company to help other Maine Artisans and Fine Craftsmen to market their wares, bringing Maine Art & Craft to the Maine and national market. At that time, Linda presided on the Maine Governors board formed during the McKernan administration to promote “Made in Maine.”
1989 marked the season they opened their first retail operation in Bar Harbor, Over the Moon Studios, focusing on their line of clothing and jewelry in a small space on Cottage Street. A year later they moved to larger quarters and opened Pretty Marsh Gallery, this time featuring their line of clothing and accessories and many of the “Made In Maine” artisans they represented. Operating in that location for 20 years they carried many Maine artist’s works of pottery, jewelry, and fibers arts, including Russ’s paintings, drawings, and illustrations.
Forty-three years later they remain an important part of Bar Harbor and Maine’s art community. Russell’s works can be found at D’Alessio Gallery on Mt. Desert Street, Bar Harbor and online. He also maintains a studio in town upstairs at Bayside Landing while Linda manages the gallery and its web presence. She is also instrumental in beginning Downtown Bar Harbor’s First Friday Art Walks and is currently Chairperson of the committee. You can find more about the D’Alessio’s on the web at: www.russelldalessioart.com
Please join the Maine Museum of Photographic Arts on Friday, July 24, from 5-8 pm for an elegant evening of art and ideas. We are hosting a panel discussion with artists in the LOOKING AT YOU exhibition: featuring Jack Montgomery, Barbara Peacock, Richard Wexler, Jan Pieter van Voorst van Beest, Bret Woodard , Arlene Collins […]
Summer is the perfect time to pull out the paints and pencils, and even tissue and glue for experimentation or to develop one’s creative talents. Upcoming classes at the Maine Art Gallery offer three opportunities to expand your abilities. In “Charcoal and Line: Drawing the Landscape,” both intermediate beginners and those with more advanced […]
The Colby College Museum of Art is pleased to announce the gift of Henri Matisse’s Océanie, le ciel, a monumental screenprint on linen conceived in 1946 and printed in 1948. The significant acquisition reinforces Colby’s position as a leading academic art museum and adds to Maine’s growing profile as a major destination for American and […]
Richard Estes (born 1932) is best known for his complex photo-realistic images of urban shop windows and their mind-eye confounding reflections. However, his work also attests to a well-traveled eye for distant places, including Mount Desert Island and Lake Champlain. While helping Alice Walton select artworks destined for the permanent collection of Crystal Bridges […]
Waterfall Arts in Belfast invites the community to explore creativity, craftsmanship and collective imagination through PLAY, a season of workshops, exhibitions and special events featuring nationally recognized artists Valeska Populoh and Mark Matthews. From illuminated lantern parades to crafted glass spheres, the visiting artists bring decades of experience and a shared belief that art has […]
The Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockland has named Rori Smith as its new director of education. Smith brings nearly two decades of experience as an educator, scholar and artist, having worked with institutions including the Penn Museum, the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, the National Museum of the American Indian and […]
Kittery Art Association presents “Lucid Coastline” through Aug. 2 at its gallery in Kittery. The exhibition explores the many ways artists interpret the shifting moods of the coast. From abstraction to realism, each work reveals a personal dialogue with nature’s edge — the lucid space between the tangible and the transcendent. An opening reception was […]
Jean Kigel Studio + Gallery in Waldoboro is currently featuring “Patchwork,” an oil painting by Jean Kigel. A few years ago, Kigel was one of 11 artists chosen to spend a day painting on Allen Island, six miles off Port Clyde. “I had passed this bleak island many times en route to Monhegan and had […]
The Union of Maine Visual Artists will present “Dreaming at Dawn,” an exhibition inspired by daybreak in Maine, from Aug. 1 to Sept. 30 at Bangor Public Library. The exhibition features 68 pieces by 51 artists from across the state, with work installed in the library’s Cyr, Stairwell and Lecture Hall galleries. Interpretations of the […]
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