Bar Harbor’s Original Influencers Were Armed With Paintbrushes.
Bar Harbor Historical Society event connects 19th-century painters, contemporary creators, and the community that supports them. You can visit the exhibit all week for free!
The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Edward Jones Financial Advisor: Elise N. Frank.
BAR HARBOR—Despite the rain, Saturday, more than 170 people headed to LaRochelle, on West Street, the home of the Bar Harbor Historical Society to celebrate the connection of artists to the town’s history and also to help raise funds to preserve that history and share it with locals and visitors alike.
Art isn’t just for the artists. History isn’t just for the historians. The stories that shape our island? Same thing. They are for all of us.
The Bar Harbor Historical Society (BHHS) has been steadfastly marching forward with that message through one accessible event after another.
This year’s Hudson to Harbor event, which began Saturday, continues throughout the week as 30 contemporary artists influenced by Maine exhibit at La Rochelle from July 20 to 24. Testa’s catered Saturday’s event.
“A significant impact of the Hudson River School’s presence in Bar Harbor is its contribution to the American conservation movement. The dramatic landscapes these artists depicted helped fuel a broader appreciation for preserving natural spaces. Bar Harbor’s identity as an artistic destination remains strong. The influence of the Hudson River School still forms a key part of the town’s artistic DNA,” BHHS Executive Director Erin Cough said last year.
The annual event is a homage to, and in the tradition of, the Hudson Valley artists despite the difference in artists’ styles. The Hudson River School was an art movement in the middle of the 19th Century that had been influenced by Romanticism and originally focused on Hudson River Valley, New York. The paintings tend to reflect the themes of settlement, discovery, and exploration, and are pastoral, realistic, detailed, and often idealized when illuminating nature.
But it’s more than that.
It’s also about the artists who are here now, seeing the landscape now, creating vision and community now, continuing to create a visual story of who we are.
“The goal of this event is to celebrate and honor the artists and the culture that they brought to the island. We have to remember that the attraction to Bar Harbor started as an artist colony loving the island like the residents do,” Cough said.
Hudson to Harbor is Bar Harbor Historical Society’s annual fundraising event that celebrates the history of art on the island with the dynamic contemporary presence of artists in Maine and here on MDI continuing that legacy.
“The event was incredibly successful. I would like to thank everyone who came out, bought raffle tickets, volunteered, and participated. The Bar Harbor Historical Society is grateful for all the support, and it really shows the importance of community,” Cough said.
Art exhibited during this event will be available for purchase, with half of the proceeds going to the artists and half being donated to the Historical Society.
“Hudson to Harbor is the primary fundraiser for the Bar Harbor Historical Society,” said Director of Engagement Nikki Moser. “It is a celebration of the history of artists in Maine, from the Wabanaki to the Hudson River School Painters. The exhibit is open this week 10 a.m. -2 p.m. free and open to the public.”
A BIT ABOUT HUDSON TO HARBOR’S HISTORY
Way back on September 3, 1844, the painter, Thomas Cole, came across the state of Maine and ended up at Lynam’s farmhouse on Schooner Head in Bar Harbor.
Bar Harbor wasn’t the first Maine stop for the founder of the Hudson River school of painting. He’d been to Penobscot Bay, Beech Mountain, and then finally came to Mount Desert Island’s northeast shore. Once here, looking out at the Atlantic and up at the mountains, he pulled out his sketchbook and the future of Mount Desert Island, and Bar Harbor, was made.
When he left Maine, he went back to New York and spoke of the island’s praises. One year, he brought Frederick Edwin Church and eventually multiple leaders in the world of American Art. They all painted and drew on the Bar Harbor plain and along the craggy coastline. Their paintings of the island? They sold, which gave them another motive and a means to return. And those images tempted other rusticators, sportsmen, boaters, and scientists.
Shortly after the Civil War concluded, Bar Harbor began to grow again.
But even before the Hudson Valley artists arrived, Wabanaki artists crafted and created and then early settlers also created while on the island.
MORE ABOUT BAR HARBOR HISTORICAL SOCIETY
The Bar Harbor Historical Society is a community and institutional leader that welcomes residents and visitors alike to discover the past in order to understand the present, and to take pride in community connections. It is a dynamic, bustling regional center for research, dialogue, and learning where stories are told through multiple media daily. Its mission is to effectively display, preserve, and interpret Bar Harbor’s rich past through its unique collections, ensuring access, enjoyment, and educational opportunities for all.
LINKS TO LEARN AND DO MORE
You can purchase art online here.
You can learn more about the Bar Harbor Historical Society here.
There are more photos on our Facebook page here.
Correction: We made Robert Clark (the artist) into Bill Clark (the former sheriff). We’ve corrected that at 2:18 p.m., July 22.
HELP SUPPORT THE BAR HARBOR STORY
When we started The Bar Harbor Story, we didn’t know if anyone would read it. But you showed up. You shared. You sent tips. Now—over 400,000 views every month later—it’s clear: people here care about their community and each other.
We’ve kept everything free because news should never be out of reach, but every one of our stories takes time to write, and your support keeps The Bar Harbor Story going.
If you value our work, please consider a paid subscription, a founding membership, or a sponsorship.
It truly helps us cover one more meeting, tell one more story, shine one more light.
Even $5 a month makes a difference. Click here to become a one-time supporter now.
Thank you so much for being here.
Founding member information can be found here.
Have questions about sponsorships? Just send Shaun an email at sfarrar86@gmail.com, he’d love to hear from you.
Funny, I was just reading an article about Frederic Edwin Church in last month's Atlantic magazine. His painting "Mount Katahdin from Millinocket Camp" is in the Yale University art gallery.