The Decorative Arts and Architecture of Southern Maine

From Maine’s rich maritime history to the lure of its enchanting landscape and renowned fall foliage, this destination links the sea and land through a wealth of ambitious architecture and noteworthy material culture. Our itinerary focuses on the Southern coast of Maine, between Portland and Wiscasset, with the expectation of a follow-up program further Down East in the years to come. From grand Georgian edifices to remarkable Victorian time capsules to heralded museum collections, our time in Maine will be sure to please.

Thursday, September 24

9:00am – 5:00pm

From Portland we head up the coast to Boothbay, where we have the pleasure of visiting a noted private collection of American folk and Indian art. The collection is displayed in a carriage house inspired by an actual South Portland example built in 1904 and includes American Indian accessories, Maine rustic and camp items, including snow shoes, canoe paddles and cups, birch and quill work, all seamlessly intertwined with folk portraits, weathervanes, red ware, and decoys. While not a typical combination, the successful intermingling of these diverse collections attests to the connoisseurship of their owner.

We then head up the Kennebec River Valley to tour Vaughan Homestead (1794) in Hallowell, where we will enjoy a luncheon on a broad wrap-around porch. Built by Benjamin Vaughan, who emigrated from England to Maine in the late 18th century to manage vast tracts of forested land, the Homestead is situated in a spectacular setting above the Kennebec. Much of the family’s furnishings from the late 18th and early 19th centuries remain on site, including portraits by Robert Edge Pine and Chinese export porcelain as well as a conversation piece painted in England that depicts the Vaughn family prior to their departure for the colonies. The Homestead’s Executive Director, Ellen Gibson, a family descendant, will serve as our guide.

The Pownalborough Court House (1761) in Dresden is Maine’s only surviving pre-Revolutionary judicial building, where leading Colonial litigators, such as John Adams, practiced their craft. The court house serves as an introduction for our visit to the privately owned Bowman House (1762), built by Lincoln County probate judge Jonathan Bowman. This is a rare opportunity to see the house’s handsome paneled rooms furnished with many original Bowman pieces, including items from an extensive suite of rococo furniture that was ordered for the house in 1770 from Boston cabinetmaker George Bright and late-Colonial silver and porcelain. Like Vaughan Homestead, the Bowman House sits atop wide lawns affording splendid views of the Kennebec.

Sunday, September 27

11:30am – 7:30pm

We will depart directly from the Maine Historical Society for Wiscasset, situated at the mouth of the Sheepscot River and considered one of Maine’s most idyllic coastal towns. Upon arrival we will enjoy a lobster roll lunch and casual tour at Historic New England’s Nickels-Sortwell House (1804), one of the region’s finest examples of high Federal-style architecture. Built by successful ship owner Captain William Nickels, the house epitomizes the brief period when shipbuilding and the maritime trade brought wealth and sophisticated tastes to the village. In 1899, the house was purchased by industrialist and banker Alvin Sortwell, who lovingly restored the house over a period of years and decorated it in the Colonial Revival style with fine antique furnishings.

We will continue to Castle Tucker (1807), which tells the story of a prominent shipping family’s life on the coast of Maine over a period of 150 years. From 1858 until the end of the 20th century, both the Tucker family and their imposing house survived economic upheavals and a rapidly changing world. Due to limited financial resources, the interiors have remained largely unchanged from this time, making Castle Tucker one of the most intact Victorian-era interiors in New England. HNE’s Senior Curator of Collections Nancy Carlisle will host the group.

Our final stop in Wiscasset is the Moses Carlton House(1804) on High Street. The house has an impressive three-story circular staircase up to a cupola that provides a fine view of the Sheepscot River and contains an excellent collection ranging from Federal furniture to early-19th-century silk-on-silk New England embroideries, portraits of American ships visiting European ports, scrimshaw, and French porcelain for the American market.

Our second base on this journey is the historic village of Harpswell, established in 1749. We will have the pleasure of touring the Tarr-Eaton House (1783), a six-room cape on the National Register housing a superb collection of folk art, much of it made in Maine, and focusing on painted and grain-decorated furniture, portraits, ceramics, textiles, folk carvings and needlework.

The Tarr-Eaton House originally served as a parsonage for the adjacent First Meeting House (1759), the oldest standing house of worship in Maine. The raised pulpit and box pews were outfitted by its first reverend, Elisha Eaton, a trained joiner, and his son. The Meeting House remains in a beautiful state of preservation. We will enjoy refreshments at the adjacent Centennial Hall before returning to Portland.

Saturday, September 26

6:00pm

The home of antiques dealer Bill Schwind and his wife, Winterthur-trained curator Arlene Palmer Schwind, is in the architecturally distinguished Western Promenade section of Portland. It was built in 1867 and retains wallpapers, lighting fixtures, and stained glass from a 1910 expansion and renovation. The Schwinds have furnished the house with antiques and art works that reflect their wide and eclectic tastes. They have sought out Maine-related fine arts including 19th-century paintings by William Mathew Prior and Charles Codman and 20th-century paintings and sculpture by Paul Akers. Their furniture ranges from a Maine-made tall case clock dated 1809 to a 1930s coffee table by Rockport artist Max Kuehne. In the dining room are 18th-century Chinese Imari porcelain wares juxtaposed against related English Imari-style examples. Arlene’s collection of early glass features unusual examples of opaque white glass.

Please join us for a wonderful evening of connoisseurship and conviviality as we toast the Schwinds’ hospitality and lend support to the Trust’s efforts to encourage the next generation of curators and academics through a notable system of grants, scholarships and internships. In 2015, more than a dozen graduate students and young professionals will benefit from the Trust’s laudable Emerging Scholars Program.

Attendance is limited to 40 participants and requires a $250 tax-deductible contribution to the Trust’s Education Fund.