Recently, I took some time to explore Southern Maine. Besides great fall foliage, hiking and lobster (which were all also part of my trip!), the state is known for its majestic lighthouses. I was able to visit a few including the beautiful one at Cape Elizabeth outside Portland. This lighthouse in particular may already be familiar to lovers of American art.
American realist painter Edward Hopper (1882-1967) may best be known for his psychological urban scenes (like Nighthawks and Chop Suey) but he also painted lovely landscapes. Over the course of nine summers between 1914 and 1929 spent in Maine, he produced numerous oil sketches and watercolors exploring the coastline and its small villages. These soft and calm images seem somewhat incongruous with what I encountered in Maine where the coastal environment was rocky, rough and stark.

Do you think this is this Montana, Arizona or in fact Rockland, Maine? – Edward Hopper, Lime Rock Quarry II, 1926, watercolor, private collection
Read more
Like this:
Like Loading...