At the turn of the 20th century, urban artists in search of new subject matter found inspiration in this stretch of coastline, forming schools, then communities. The resulting contribution to the greater art world seemed beyond the scale of the once sleepy fishing village that made it possible. Artists affiliated with diverse chapters of American art history, such as the Federal Art Project (1935–1943) of the Works Progress Administration, the Armory Show of 1913, the Ashcan School of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and The Penguin (1917–1923) group in New York, came to work in Ogunquit, making connections and developing styles that would advance their work in Boston, New York, and beyond. With selections ranging from the late 19th century to the present, The View from Narrow Cove draws primarily from the museum’s permanent collection and provides an overview of artists from the early years of Ogunquit’s artist colonies, including Charles H. Woodbury (1864-1940), Hamilton Easter Field (1873-1922), Yasuo Kuniyoshi (1889-1953), and Rudolph Dirks (1877-1968), among others.
The exhibition is organized by the Ogunquit Museum of American Art and generously supported by The Sparhawk Oceanfront Resort and Down East magazine.
