Dennis Dixon is heading West!: Farnsworth Art Museum, Rockland, Maine

Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020 - Although this is my 4th visit to "The Farnsworth", it is the first blog I have written about them. And even though it is in New England, it is really not "just around the corner", even from our relatively-central place in New England:

It's about an hour north of Portland, which is a couple of hours north of us.

There are 3 exhibits I would like to see:

So Wendy and I were able to do a nice day-trip, eating sandwiches in the car and arriving in Rockland, Maine a little before our 2 PM tickets (the Museum is open, but call ahead for a specific time to visit):

The Andrew Wyeth exhibition is a wonderful cross-section of his works, ranging from 1937 (at the age of 20):
"Charlie Ervine", 1937 tempera on panel (in the "MAINE: The Farnsworth Collection" exhibit):

up to 2008, one year before he died:
"Goodbye", 2008 tempera on panel:

Highlights include:

"Adrift", 1982 tempera on panel:

"Pentecost", 1989 tempera on panel

"On the Edge Study", 2001 watercolor:

"The Sisters", 1978 watercolor:

All the Andrew Wyeth pieces are from "The Andrew and Betsy Wyeth Collection" (generally housed in storage in Brandwine, PA), and are rarely seen, so that makes this all pretty special.

And because life is made up of stories, here is a nice one, written by Penelope Green for the New York Times (April 26, 2020) in appreciation for Betsy Wyeth, who died April 21, 2020 at the age of 98:

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In 2008, Ms. Wyeth bought an old sail loft that had been taken down years earlier to make way for a parking lot in Port Clyde, Maine. She had it put back together on one of the three islands in “Betsy’s Village.” It was a surprise birthday gift for her husband, yet another object for him to paint, and with a gallery inside.

He worked on it all summer, and as Dr. Stoner said, did two curious things. He painted it at first with a bright sky, and then altered it to make the day a stormy one. And sometime that December he scraped off his signature. “It was as if he was erasing himself,” , Dr. Stoner said.

As was her custom, Ms. Wyeth named the work: “Sail Loft.” But after Mr. Wyeth’s death in January 2009, she gave it a new title, “Goodbye, My Love,” which she later changed to the more simple “Goodbye.”
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Other Farnsworth Art Museum highlights include:

Fitz Henry Lane - "Shipping in Down East Water", 1854 oil:

N.C. Wyeth - "Bright and Fair - Eight Bells", 1936 oil:

N.C. Wyeth - "The Morris House, Port Clyde", c.1937 oil:

I-95 South was ablaze as we headed back home:

Dinner at 5 Guys!! - Thank You God for a Great little adventure!!

Audio today - Wendy read me her sermon, which she will be giving this coming Sunday.

and then music:

Pete Townshend - Empty Glass, 1980 2nd album