One man's trash...

One of Maine's favorite painting heroes has an interesting story attached to the recent auction of one of his almost-lost pieces, over at MPBN:

The works of celebrated 19th century painter Winslow Homer, including his iconic images of Maine's coast, can fetch small fortunes. But one of his paintings spent time in an Irish dump before it was found and years later, authenticated as the real deal. The watercolor was scheduled to be auctioned off today by Sotheby's in New York for about $300,000, but at the last minute got pulled off the auction block . To tell us the unusual story of this painting -- a painting very different from the Homer works we know and love -- we have Thomas Denenberg, chief curator of the Portland Museum of Art, which houses the Winslow Homer gallery.

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For those stuck at work and unable to listen, here is an article about the abrupt change in route of the painting, over at the London Eventing Standard: click here.

As DownEast.com comments, "Given Homer's fixation with painting seascapes — both tranquil and raging — it's ironic that the missing Homer painting should be, er, netted by a fisherman." [Source]

Edward Hopper's Haunted House in Maine

Edward Hopper, like many other famous American artists, found in Maine an inspiration to produce art that was as indicative of Maine's nature as it was of his own nature, not to mention his talent. 1926 found him painting a stark watercolor that cried keenly with the sort of yearning and emptiness that he found almost everywhere he went, if one is to judge by many of his works.

One of the best-known of his Rockland works is Haunted House (collection of the Farnsworth Art Museum), a depiction of The Atlantic House, an old boarding house, now destroyed, located at 5 South Street.
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