The splendor of Maine has inspired generations of artists since the time when Frederic Edwin Church, Fitz Hugh Lane, Thomas Cole and others first came here in the mid-nineteenth century. Over the years, Maine has become a haven for such renowned artists as Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper, George Bellows, Marguerite Zorach, Berenice Abbott, Georgia O’Keeffe, and three generations of the Wyeth family.
The Maine Art Museum Trail includes Maine’s seven leading art museums: the Bates College Museum of Art (Lewiston), the Bowdoin College Museum of Art (Brunswick), the Colby College Museum of Art (Waterville), the Farnsworth Art Museum (Rockland), the Ogunquit Museum of American Art (Ogunquit), the Portland Museum of Art (Portland), and the University of Maine Museum of Art (Bangor).
The museums’ permanent collections include works of art by the many artists who have summered or worked in Maine, such as Marsden Hartley, John Marin, Rockwell Kent, Louise Nevelson, Fairfield Porter, and Alex Katz.
Maine art museum collections also feature treasures ranging from masterpieces by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt, and Pablo Picasso to early American silver and furniture, as well as contemporary textiles, prints, ceramics, and sculpture.
All within a day’s drive of each other, the seven museum communities offer comfortable inns and hotels, inviting restaurants, and vibrant cultural attractions ranging from dance festivals and film series to historic neighborhoods and lively shops and galleries. And all are within close range of Maine’s pine-covered mountains and bustling coastal villages—the same sights that have inspired generations of Maine artists.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
