Penobscot Marine Museum Photography Exhibits (January 10 – May 31, 2023)

January 10, 2023 Art Shows, Community

Belfast, Maine — Two Penobscot Marine Museum photography exhibits — “Up River: Selections From The Captain Bill Abbott Collection” and “20 Best” — are on display at the H. Allen and Sally Fernald Art Gallery at the University of Maine Hutchinson Center in Belfast through May 31. The show is free and open to the public, 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m., Monday–Friday.

“Up River: Selections From The Captain Bill Abbott Collection” features photographs from the collection of Captain Bill Abbott, an avid collector of photographs, who upon his passing in 2014, left the Penobscot Marine Museum his treasured collection, where it is being digitized and preserved. This exhibit highlights a selection of images from his archive.

This exhibit was generously funded by lead donor Wayne Hamilton, as well as Mr. and Mrs. E. Vance Bunker, Captain Almer and Linda Dinsmore, Captain David Gelinas, Penobscot Bay & River Pilots Association, Penobscot Bay Tractor Tug Company, Captain Prentice Strong, and Captain Duke Tomlin.

“20 Best” features a curated selection of 20 photographs from towns, tiny communities and summer colonies here in Maine.  What distinguishes an image? Is it the drama of the moment, the artistic qualities of its composition, the expression on a face, the time in history it represents, or the way light played with the subject? Knowing the story behind an image can deepen one’s appreciation of it; even without the story, however, knowing how to look at a photograph can do the same. What relationship did a photographer create among shapes, textures, shadow and light? What is the emotional impact of these relationships? Does the photographer’s choice of subjects suggest something more than their face value? A strong image is always marked by a combination of the photographer’s technical mastery and creative vision.

The Penobscot Marine Museum chose the “20 Best” photographs from their archive of more than 140,000 photographic images.

Learn more about the Penobscot Marine Museum here.

Learn more about the H. Allen and Sally Fernald Art Gallery here.

For information or to request a reasonable accommodation, contact Laura Matthews, hutchinsoncenter@maine.edu.