Carl Little - Böcker

The Art of Maine in Winter presents more than eighty works by the finest American painters who capture the beauty of winter in Maine. Winslow Homer and Rockwell Kent, for example, stayed well into the winter, creating some of the most memorable images of Maine ever made. Snow on a meadow, ice blocks in a bay, frozen winter streams, sea smoke hovering over the ocean, and houses becoming gingerbread fantasies after a snowstorm — these are the glories of winter in Maine that have inspired artists for almost two hundred years.

Dahlov Ipcar is best known for her vibrant collage-style paintings of jungle and farm animals. This clearly evident love of animals is due in part to the summers she spent with her family in Maine. In 1923 the Zorach family (her parents were the famous artists William and Marguerite Zorach) bought a farm at Robinhood Cove in Georgetown, Maine. It was during a Maine summer that Dahlov met her future husband Adolph Ipcar. They married in September 1936 and after living in New York City for a short time, they moved permanently to Maine. where she still lives today.

From his earliest work with glass to the stunning aerial panoramas of Maine islands that have gained him far-reaching fame, Eric Hopkins has consistently explored boundaries-of medium, of space, of vision. Nurtured on North Haven Island, Hopkins attended the Rhode Island School of Design and the Montserrat College of Art and taught at the Haystack School of Crafts; an important mentor along the way was glass master Dale Chihuly. Taking to the air in the early 1980s, he developed those signature views coveted by collectors: energized renderings of coastal motifs, in which horizons bend and an archipelago of spruce-topped isles spreads across the canvas. Eric Hopkins: Above and Beyond is the first book to present a wide range of the breathtaking work of an eminent American artist.

The city of Portland and its surroundings, including the islands of Casco Bay, have inspired a wide range of art over the past 200 years. The “city by the sea,” as Longfellow famously called it, has been a visual talisman for a host of artists, from early masters like Harrison Bird Brown and John Bradley Hudson to a remarkable roster of contemporary painters. Subjects include many of the city’s signature buildings, including the Custom House and Portland Head Light, as well as street scenes, the waterfront, harbor, back bay, and surrounding landscapes—even the Million Dollar Bridge. Paintings of Portland will feature a wide range of motifs, in all seasons and represented by an array of styles. About a quarter of the book will be devoted to historical pieces, the rest to paintings by contemporary artists.

Siri Beckman made her way to Maine in the late 1970s, where she was “called” to wood engraving quite by accident. She has been practicing this art form for over forty years and this volume, featuring more than 100 of her images, is a celebration of her life's work and legacy. Text by Beckman discusses the process of wood engraving and her passion for printmaking and book arts. Carl Little ties her work to place and establishes its place in the canon of Maine art.