Even MORE Treasures from
the Farnsworth Art Museum
Instructor: Christopher Williamson, Carter Jones Meyer, Joseph Coté
Tuesdays • 8 classes • 3/22-5/10 • 9:30-11:30 AM
Class size 5-60 students
11 seats remaining
Location: Zoom only
Farnsworth docents Chris Williamson, Carter Jones Meyer and Joseph Coté will take participants on another virtual tour of more art treasures from Rockland’s Farnsworth Art Museum. Each session will focus on specific artists who have worked in Maine and important themes that have emerged in their art. As part of this tour, we will preview three exciting new exhibitions that will open this summer. Participants will be encouraged to engage with the works and the class via a combination of “chat” and real time conversation. The continuing goal will be to expand our ability to engage with art, consider the historical context in which it is produced, develop our ability to notice, improve our visual vocabulary, and perhaps to reconnect with some favorite artists/works or to discover new ones.
VIRTUAL TOURS BY WEEK:
3/22
3/29
4/5
4/12
4/19
4/26
5/3
5/10
Andrew Wyeth
The New York Times recently (2/2/22) called attention to Andrew and Betsy Wyeth’s home on Allen and Benner islands, off of Port Clyde. Having looked at Wyeth’s last painting from there, we will in this session look at how those and other islands provided important subject matter for Andrew’s work – and compare that to some works of his father NC and his son Jamie.
Bernard Langlais, Lois Dodd,
Yvonne Jacquette, and Slab City artists
A number of artists in the early 1950’s started coming to Lincolnville in the summer, and many made Maine their permanent home. We have looked at a few and will explore a few more in this session. Initially within the New York abstract expressionist group, these artists gravitated toward landscape and portraiture. Each brings a unique perspective to abstracting their world.
Winter in Maine:
Rockwell Kent and other artists of winter
So many well-known artists have come to Maine in the summers, often to the coast and islands. They are enthralled by the quality of light, the vivid colors, and the proximity to other artists. Some, however, like Rockwell Kent, Neil Welliver and (naturally!) Andrew Winter, find winter to be even more compelling. We will explore their work to learn why.
One hundred years with Wil Barnett
Barnett was a prolific artist, painter, printmaker and lithographer. Interestingly, he returned often to the same themes in different styles. By looking at what was happening during Barnett’s life, we can both celebrate his progression as an artist and also consider some of the artistic movements that he was directly or tangentially involved with.
Ashley Bryan and African American artists
The 2022 recipient of the Farnsworth’s Maine in America Award, Bryan also won several awards for his trail breaking contributions to American children’s literature. The exhibit will also celebrate his puppet making. Throughout his career Bryan was committed to presenting Black faces in his books and his art. We will look at his work and that of other African American artists, like David Driscoll, who studied at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture.
Kenneth Noland and color field painting
Although the initial direction of Abstract Expressionism was toward what became known as “action painting,” another branch from the same impulse in its purest form resulted in a very different aesthetic – color field painting. Noland was among the most consistent of these, who included Mark Rothko, Helen Frankenthaler, Barnett Newman, and Clifford Still.
Leonard Baskin: print maker and sculptor
The Baskin exhibit will provide an opportunity to consider both sculpture and print making. Contemporaneous with Wyeth, Barnet, and Bryan, his response to the world was very different. In this time of pandemic, his examination of humanity in crisis, though unsettling, may be particularly timely.
Docent Favorites:
Each participating docent will select a surprise artist’s work(s) from the museum. We may even ask you for suggestions!
Christopher Williamson
A retired educator, including 23 years as a Head of School in two independent schools, Chris Williamson has been a docent at the Farnsworth Art Museum since 2015, returning to his early interest in the arts. He graduated from Williams College with honors in history in 1970, earned a Master’s Degree in English from The University of New Hampshire in 1975, and took graduate courses at Boston University in education and the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill in drama. After teaching, directing plays, coaching, and serving as Arts Chair, he took on various administrative roles prior to becoming a Head of School. Chris has presented at regional and national conferences, has served on several Boards, and has had articles published in professional journals. In addition to his on-going docent volunteering and training at the Farnsworth, Chris has taken the National Gallery of Art’s Teaching Critical Thinking Through Art course.
Carter Jones Meyer
Carter Jones Meyer is Professor Emerita of History at Ramapo College of New Jersey. She received a B.A. in American Studies from Skidmore College, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and earned both the M.A. and Ph.D. in American Studies at Brown University. Carter specializes in and has published widely in the fields of late nineteenth and early twentieth century American cultural history, the history of the American West, and American Indian history. At Ramapo, she served as chair of both the History and American Studies programs, and received awards for excellence in teaching and for significant contributions to the development of the College. In retirement she continues to pursue her interests in history, art, and culture, not only as a docent at the Farnsworth Art Museum, but also as a student and collector of Native art. Most recently she served as a judge at Santa Fe Indian Market, the largest juried Native art show in the world.
Joseph Coté
Joseph Coté is a 1971 alumnus of the University of Maine at Orono and a 1977 Master’s Degree graduate of Washington University in St. Louis. Following early career experiences in university administration at both institutions and a three-year professional acting chapter, Joseph launched long-held dreams of seeing as much for the world as possible by joining the international hospitality industry. Following six successful roles as Private Events Director in American hotels including the former Ritz Carlton, Boston, Joseph crossed the Atlantic and indeed the Mediterranean, relishing five years at two five-star hotels in Istanbul. Following stints in Singapore, Paris, Shanghai, and seven glorious years in London, Joseph added eighteen more foreign ports to his resume as a hotel consultant. He retired in Camden in the Summer of 2018 and has been a docent at the Farnsworth Museum since March of 2020. Joseph is still an actor when the opportunity arises and has taught Shakespeare study courses with the Midcoast and the Coastal Senior Colleges for two years.