To celebrate Maine’s 200th anniversary of statehood, art museums across the state have been planning special exhibitions for 2020. While museums are temporarily closed during the health crisis, some of the exhibits can be previewed online.

The Portland Museum of Art and the Maine Humanities Council collaborated with partners and advisors throughout the state to feature stories about Maine’s past and present. Mainers were invited from various regions and diverse backgrounds to present the stories, and highlight works of art in Stories of Maine: An Incomplete History.

Few artists have successfully captured Maine’s spirit like Andrew Wyeth. The Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland has planned the sweeping exhibition Andrew Wyeth: Maine Legacy (through January 3, 2021) highlighting paintings completed during Andrew Wyeth’s years in Maine, from the late 1920s through 2008 —almost half of Maine’s 200 years of statehood. 

This Wyeth exhibition is part of the Farnsworth’s Maine 200 bicentennial celebration First to Hail the Rising Sun, which also includes Elliot Porter: All the Wild Places and Maine: The Farnsworth Collection, and much more.

To read ahead, the new release Maine and American Art: The Farnsworth Art Museum (Rizzoli Electa) is a 384-page volume written by Farnsworth Chief Curator Michael K. Komanecky, Curator Jane Bianco, and Registrar Angela Waldron. Celebrating Maine’s role in American art, the book features a diverse range of artists from Marsden Hartley, Winslow Homer, and Georgia O’Keeffe to Francesco Clemente, Robert Rauschenberg, and Alex Katz. Order from the Farnsworth store, along with exhibition catalogues.

For a listing and more links to Maine museums, see The Maine Art Museum Trail.