News

The Dorothea and Leo Rabkin Foundation
Press Release:

CELEBRATING MAINE’S ARTIST-ENDOWED FOUNDATIONS
Opening Reception May 4th, 5-8 PM

Maine is fortunate to have many artist-endowed foundations contributing artistic and financial resources to our state. Artists love coming to Maine for her natural beauty, tranquility and unspoiled wilderness. In the 19th and 20th centuries, many artists established studios and seasonal homes in Maine’s seaside towns, farmlands and urban areas as well. At the end of life, many of these artists thought carefully about their legacy and decided to create artist-endowed foundations headquarters in Maine. Their love of Maine prompted them to provide new experiences, economic support and educational institutions to sustain younger artists and advance an ever-expanding appreciation of new art forms in the state.

We are proud to bring together the work of some of Maine’s most distinguished artists whose gifts to Maine include seasonal residencies for artists, exhibition programs for the general public, grants to artists and writers and other programs that continue to enrich Maine’s cultural life. Maine’s cultural ties to New York City are reflected in the number of modernists who have made our state a second home and beneficiary of their philanthropy.

This exhibition of 20 borrowed works is drawn from the institutional collections of the following artist-endowed foundations currently active in Maine:

Ellis-Beauregard Foundation, Rockland, Maine
http://www.ellis-beauregardfoundation.com

Surf Point Foundation, York, Maine

Joseph A. Fiore Art Center, Jefferson, Maine
https://www.mainefarmlandtrust.org/public-outreach-new/jaf-art-center/

Heliker-LaHotan Foundation, Cranberry Isles, Maine
http://heliker-lahotan.org

Bob Crewe Foundation, Falmouth, Maine
https://crewe.foundation

Kenneth Noland Foundation, Port Clyde, Maine
http://www.kennethnoland.com

Stephen and Palmina Pace Foundation, Stonington, Maine
https://www.stephenandpalminapace.org
https://www.meca.edu/info-for/alumni/alumni-opportunities/grants-residencies/pace-house- residency/

Dorothea and Leo Rabkin Foundation, Portland, Maine
https://www.rabkinfoundation.org

Artists represented in our exhibition include: Joan Marie Beauregard; Bob Crewe; John David Ellis; Joseph Fiore; Beverly Hallam; John Heliker; Robert LaHotan; Kenneth Noland; Stephen Pace and Leo Rabkin. Each will have two works, one typical major work and one study or smaller work. We hope that the vitality and beauty of this presentation will pay tribute to the vision and generosity of a generation of important artists who are even now playing a role in the future life of art in Maine.

If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Susan C. Larsen, Ph.D., Executive Director at 207-536-1686 or email slarsen@rabkinfoundation.org or Danielle Frye, Executive Assistant at dfrye@rabkinfoundation.org