Join Our Email List Email:

Visit us on Facebook

 

(click any image
on this page
to see it larger)

About the Museum: | News | History | Staff & Board | Volunteers | Almost Labor Day Auction |

Home/What's New > About the Museum > Museum News

Edward Betts, Deserted Depot, date unknown, watercolor, 21 x 29", Collection OMAA, Gift of the Edward H. Betts Estatei

Museum News
Coming events, news and press releases from
the Ogunquit Museum of American Art.

A Treasure Lost:
In Memoriam: Priscilla Schwartz

It is with a profound sense of personal and institutional loss that we mourn the passing on August 3rd of Priscilla Schwartz, Ogunquit Museum of American Art program director, collaborator, contributor, and friend. Priscilla fought her last battle with her usual inimitable style, grace, candor, humor, and enduring character. Her sudden departure from us leaves a void that feels irreconcilable. Please join us in extending our most heartfelt sympathies to Priscilla's family. We understand that we have lost a treasure and we know she will be remembered forever, fondly, for the impression she made on us all. A funeral service for Priscill Schwartz was held at the Museum on Sunday, August 7th.

Interview with the Director
My Lunch With Ron Crusan

In which we talk about recent successes of the Museum, eat the best fish sandwich ever, and I get to make the Perkins Cove bridge go up and down. Click here to read it.

OMAA Director’s Message 2011
The state of the art.

OMAA Executive Director Ron Crusan writes about the Museum’s new developments, shows, plans, and construction. Click here to read Ron Crusan’s Director’s Message 2011.

Maine Arts Commission Survey:
The Economic Impact of OMAA
In 2010, the Maine Arts Commission conducted a survey of visitors to Maine’s museums. The economic impact that OMAA visitors make to the regional economy is impressive. Did you know that visitors to the Museum spend $3.8 million a year on lodging, food, retail, and local transportation? Or that day visitors spend an average of $144 a day on shopping and restaurants? Fifty-seven percent of our visitors stay overnight and spend an average of $319 a day on lodging, food, and shopping. We are proud to play our part in the economic vitality of our region. Click here to read the entire Maine Museum Study.

Your Email News Update:

If you'd like to receive your own weekly email update from the Museum, just type in your email address in the “Join Our Email List” box to the left, and click “Join.” Click here to view an archive of OMAA Email Updates.

In The Portland Press Herald, 6/28/11:
Black Beauty
Reflections of the outdoors constantly change the ebony landscape created by Lauren Fensterstock in the Ogunquit Museum of American Art. by Bob Keyes
Click here to read the whole article.

In The Wire, 5/04/11:
French Connections
Ogunquit Museum opens season with “The Artists of La Napoule Art Foundation”
Click here to read the whole article.

Coming Friday, April 29th, 2011:
Gala Preview!
Contemporaries: The Artists of La Napoule Art Foundation

Champagne Reception: Friday, April 29, 2011 from 6-8 pm Tickets: $100 per couple, includes a chance to win a stay at Chateau La Napoule. La Napoule Art Foundation (LNAF) and the OMAA present a special exhibition, "Contemporaries: The Artists of La Napoule Art Foundation" at the Museum, May 1 through June 26, 2011. The exhibition celebrates the 60th Anniversary of the Foundation as well as the Museum's commitment to modern American art by featuring the work of eight New England artists who participated in the Residency Program at the Foundation's Clews Center for the Arts, in the Chateau de La Napoule in France in 2009. The artists are Gerald Auten, Emily Brown, Kate Doyle, Simon Harling, Alison Hildreth, Tanja Alexia Hollander, Rebecca Litt, and Meg Brown Payson. "Each of the artists enjoyed such a positive and rewarding experience at the Chateau they were excited to participate in this exhibition to celebrate the Foundation's mission and remarkable history," said La Napoule Art Foundation Board President Noele Clews and OMAA Director Ron Crusan in the joint announcement. In addition to a preview of the exhibit with some of the artists, guests at the reception will enjoy a silent art auction of donated artwork to benefit the OMAA and the LNAF Artist-in-Residency program. Tickets are $100 per couple and all ticket holders are automatically entered in a drawing to win a one-week stay at La Napoule Chateau in France. For ticket information and purchases, contact the LNAF office at 603-436-3040.

Coming Saturday, April 16th, 2011:
Art Supplies Yard Sale

At the Museum, Saturday, 4/16, from 9 am to 2 pm. Are you looking for that perfect picture frame? Do you want to try something new as an artist? You will find all sorts of art-making materials at the Art Supplies Yard Sale. Look for frames, paper for drawing and painting, canvas and mat board, easels and drawing tables, art books and videos, and other art supplies. All proceeds go to support Barn Gallery and the Ogunquit Museum of American Art.

For more information contact:

• Roz Fedeli at (207) 351-3262 or rivercurrentart [at sign] myfairpoint.com
• Ogunquit Museum of American Art at (207) 646-4909 

August 10, 2010:
The OMAA Receives $40,000 Quimby Grant

Museum Director Ron Crusan is pleased to announce that the Ogunquit Museum of American Art is the recipient of a $40,000 grant from the Quimby Family Foundation. The money will be used to conduct a site planning study for the building and grounds, and to improve visitor services, for example, the reception area, lighting, signage, benches, etc.

"The Ogunquit Museum of Art was selected to receive funding because your goals and mission most closely align with our foundation's funding goals. We are truly inspired by the work that you have been doing in the state of Maine," said Hannah Quimby of the Quimby Family Foundation.

From the Quimby Grant application:

We have a great opportunity to not only modernize many of the physical amenities present on the Museum’s grounds, but also to establish the OMAA as a welcoming, safe environment that establishes the Museum as a leader in Maine arts.

Our overall goal is to improve the visitor experience at the museum. To reach that goal the Museum will undertake the following projects:

1. Develop a master plan for the OMAA building, grounds and parking (currently only 25 spaces)
2. Upgrade outdoor parking and pathway lighting (pathway currently not lit)
3. Replace antiquated front desk and check out system
4. New gallery benches (the old ones are homemade and can tip over easily)
5. Upgrade gallery lighting and electrical work (some lighting dates to 1953)
6. Replace indoor and outdoor signage with new contemporary looking signs

The improvements will improve the aesthetics of the immediate neighborhood through the coordinated design of the overall site plan. Parking, lighting, signage, walking pathways and landscaping would have a unified theme and coordinated look. The larger community as a whole will benefit by having a vastly improved museum in their town, one which will draw more visitors and improve visitation to the Town of Ogunquit. The visitors will benefit by having a safer, environmentally friendly, and a more welcoming environment in which to enjoy their visit. Overall, visitation should increase, with more repeat visitation.

Everyone will be involved in the evaluation of the project, from consultants for the site plan through professional evaluation, the staff and board through formal and informal visitor surveys, our membership and community through their comments and support. We plan to include the neighbors and community in the planning phase of the project so that they can see the need for improvements and will support the implementation of the improvements in their neighborhood.

June 28, 2010:
The OMAA Begins Search for Ogunquit Art History Artifacts

The Museum's lineage has a direct link to the early local art colonies and the beginnings of the Ogunquit Art Association. In coming years, the Museum will begin to align itself more closely with that lineage by offering a series of exhibitions and programs, many culled from our own collections, which reflect our rich history.

In keeping with the theme of honoring our artistic roots, the Museum has begun a program of collecting artifacts and ephemera about the artists and events of the early art colonies. Recently, through the estate of Edward Betts, we have acquired many early photographs of the seacoast and Perkins Cove that the artist used as references for his paintings. We have also come into possession of a May, 1965 American Artist featuring the sculpture of Robert Laurent, a 1945 catalog from the Ogunquit Art Center, many post cards from the artist colonies, and a 1931 monograph on Bernard Karfiol.

If you have old photographs, letters, books or catalogs pertaining to the art or artists from Ogunquit, please consider donating them to the Museum archive. They will become a permanent part of the museum's archives and will be preserved for future generations to research and enjoy. For more information, email OMAA Director Ron Crusan by clicking here.