June 18, 2026 5-8 PM and First Friday – July 3, 2026 5- 8 PM
Drop in and share in a brief Talk and Walk.
Join Us for a Talk & Walk with Abigail Dunnigan: Why Maine? Then and Now
What drew artists to Maine more than a century ago? And why do artists continue to find inspiration here today?
The Maine Art Collective invites you to explore these questions during a special Talk & Walk led by Abigail Dunnigan, art historian and graduate student in Museum Studies at Georgetown University.
The program begins with a brief five-minute talk examining the reasons artists first flocked to Maine’s shores. Following the presentation, visitors will have the opportunity to walk through the gallery with Abby and see artists the unique connection between Maine’s artistic past and its vibrant creative present.
Meet Abigail Dunnigan
Abigail Dunnigan earned her Bachelor’s degree in Art History from the University of Southern Maine in 2024 and is currently pursuing graduate studies in Museum Studies at Georgetown University.
Her academic work has focused extensively on Maine art and museum practice. As an undergraduate, Abby served as a research assistant for the exhibition Shifting Sands: Beaches, Bathers, and Modern Maine Art at the Ogunquit Museum of American Art. Her research explored artists such as Reginald Marsh and George Bellows and their connections to Maine’s coastal communities, tourism, and leisure culture in the early twentieth century.
She has also worked with the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, where she conducted object research, collections management, cataloging, and exhibition writing. Her experience combines rigorous scholarship with a passion for making art history accessible and engaging to the public.
Why Did Artists Come to Maine?
Long before Maine became a popular tourist destination, artists were discovering something extraordinary here.
The state’s distinctive northern light, rugged coastline, mountains, forests, islands, and working waterfronts offered subjects unlike those found elsewhere in America. They were drawn by the dramatic landscapes from the mountains to the North Atlantic, the changing weather, and the opportunity to capture a place that felt both wild and authentic.
The artists were drawn to Ogunquit, Katahdin and Monhegan Island, soon the word spread. The first artist colony was founded in Ogunquite. More painters arrived, followed by writers, photographers, and craftspeople who found endless inspiration in Maine’s natural beauty and unique character.
Why Do Artists Still Come to Maine?
The reasons have changed surprisingly little.
Today’s artists continue to be inspired by the same golden light, expansive coastlines, island communities, wetlands, mountains, and forests that captivated earlier generations. Maine remains a place where creativity flourishes because the landscape constantly offers something new to observe, interpret, and share.
At the Maine Art Collective, visitors can see how contemporary artists continue this tradition. While their styles, materials, and perspectives may differ from those of the early painters, many are responding to the same environment that first attracted artists to Maine over a century ago.
Maine Art Collective Artist, Marcia Feller’s art reflects her love of the ocean and particularly Stonington, Maine – A community built on the rocky Maine shoreline facing one hundred and eighty islands and the open North Atlantic. These images from her annual Solstice visits where she, her husband and friends rise in the dark of the night to sea kayak to an island for dawn of the longest day of the year, only then can you experience the magic and mystery that lead to her paintings.
Acrylic
Marcia Feller resides on an island in Casco Bay but for the longest days of the year; She, her husband and several other couples head to Stonington for a week of sea kayaking on the islands of Merchant Row and the Deer Isle Thorofare. On the longest day, they awake well before dawn so that they are on an island to celebrate summer Solstice with the magic of daybreak. The gentle light in her paintings that dawning light. As the day breaks and they later return to town, Marcia then captures the essences of this rocky granite community in the full daylight.
Experience the Connection
Following Abby’s presentation, visitors are invited to walk through the gallery and meet the artists whose work continues Maine’s rich artistic legacy.
Ask questions. Learn about their process. Discover what inspires them. See why they choose to live and create in Maine.
The Talk & Walk is an opportunity to connect Maine’s artistic history with the artists who are shaping its future.
We hope you’ll join us for this engaging exploration of Maine’s enduring creative spirit.
Jo Eaton
No Repeats Fiberworks, Gorham, Maine
June 18, 2028
Art in Maine 