Maine Gallery + Studio Guide article on current show

Machias Valley New Observer article on current show

Maine Gallery + Studio Guide article on last show

Machias Valley New Observer article on last show

LINKS FOR ORDERING BOOKS:

• Hard Cover: ‘DISAPPEARING: The Working Waterfront of Downeast’

• Soft Cover: ‘DISAPPEARING: The Working Waterfront of Downeast’

HOURS: May 1~Sept 20, Wed~Sat 11am~5pm. Open by chance or call for appointment: 510 504 1109.

~ Scroll down for art, artists, and antiques. ~

Oil painting by Vera Rahn

Welcome to MOTHERS Gallery

We bring the best of the world to Maine, and the best of Maine to the world by showcasing fine art and artistic antiques in our 1841 barn and garden in the heart of Downeast Maine. We are inspired by the work John Marin painted while living nearby, and the well-known art gallery his daughter-in-law ran, which attracted a Who’s Who of leading Maine and America artists.

The Heart of Downeast Maine

MOTHERS opened in May 2022, taking advantage of the 1841 barn’s three exhibit spaces. We aim to celebrate Mother Nature, the mothers of creation, all mothers, all creators, all things made by hand everywhere. The response from locals, collectors and visitors alike has been enthusiastic, encouraging us to expand what MOTHERS offers in the area, such as artistic antiques and recently a second floor gallery. We here to provide opportunities for creativity, culture, community and commerce. We dedicate this artspace to our mothers who are both accomplished painters.

Oil painting by David Vosburgh

Book Launch & Signing @ Saturday, August 31, 11am to 2pm

Peabody Memorial Library, 162 Main Street, Jonesport

Book designed by Whitney Vosburgh

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August 2024:

Book Launch & Signing @ Saturday, August 31, 11am to 2pm

Peabody Memorial Library, 162 Main Street, Jonesport

CALIFLORA: Works inspired by nature by four California artists

MOTHERS Art & Antique Gallery is pleased to share that their next exhibition ‘CALIFLORA featuring works on paper by Irene Imfeld, John Watson, Clare Olivares and Whitney Vosburgh will open on Sunday, September 1, from 4-6pm, and will be up until September 21. 

Photograph by Irene Imfeld

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August 2024:

From the Hudson to the Pleasant River: 

The contrasting landscapes of David Vosburgh (this video) & Richard Bazelow

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August 2024:

From the Hudson to the Pleasant River: 

The contrasting landscapes of David Vosburgh & Richard Bazelow (this video)

August 2024:

From the Hudson to the Pleasant River: 

The contrasting landscapes of Richard Bazelow & David Vosburgh

The Hudson River School was the first truly American school of painting. The landscapes often juxtaposed agriculture and the remaining wilderness, which was fast disappearing from the Hudson Valley, just as it was coming to be appreciated for its qualities of rugged beauty. While the first generation of painters focused on the Hudson River, the second-generation expanded to other unspoiled locales, including Maine in general and Mount Desert Island in particular. ‡‡‡ Richard Bazelow has lived most of his life in the Hudson Valley of New York. It’s where he spent his early years walking the woods and painting before he realized there was a name for it. It’s where he would leave as a young man to see the broader world around him, and then return to live his life. The Catskill Mountains were north, Hudson River east, and the Shawangunk Mountains west. Surrounded by that kind of landscape, it was easy to grow up appreciating the unique perspectives that nature offers. Richard is a member of a number of well known artist organizations and shows at galleries in New England and the mid-Atlantic area. ‡‡‡ David Vosburgh was born into a family of artists in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. He began to study art at the age of 14. His quiet, light-filled paintings possess a profound sense of place, perhaps not surprisingly, as his family has lived in New England and the neighboring Hudson Valley for nearly four centuries. Since the beginning he has focused exclusively on landscape and his work has enjoyed growing popularity among collectors. A member of several art societies in the Northeast, David is an Elected Artist member of the American Artist’s Professional League. His painting Berkshire Nocturne: Lime Kiln Road was awarded the Hudson Valley Art Association’s prize for landscape in 2021.

Oil painting by Richard Bazelow

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July 2024, new exhibition and book:

DISAPPEARING:

The Working Waterfront of Downeast

DISAPPEARING: The Working Waterfront of Downeast

Featuring the paintings of Valerie Aponik and Robin Rier that preserve local history, the disappearing iconic working waterfront of the Bold Coast, in paint.

VALERIE APONIK & ROBIN RIER have painted plein air side by side for many years but with different points of view and styles. Yet there is a visible common thread throughout their work. Robin and Valerie strive to capture the character, history and uniqueness of the places they paint in oil. They want to become part of the scene — at one with nature and all that surrounds them — by preserving their impressions and memories in paint. Valerie scans the scene all over and improvises by moving parts of the scenery around until it feels right. On the other hand, Robin finds and focuses on a scene that appeals to her as it is. And for both of them, painting outside is both a passion and an adventure. ‡‡‡ Aponik and Rier are both New Englanders and moved to Downeast Maine in the late ‘70s. In time, they raised families, had careers and reinvented themselves in the second half of life as landscape painters. They love the shore, the rocks, the timelessness and beauty of the Bold Coast, with its old wharves and buildings, and rugged scenery. ‡‡‡ Valerie gave up her nursing career to paint full time, and exhibits her work with Roux and Cyr Gallery in Portland, Archipelago in Rockland and Blue Hill Bay Gallery in Blue Hill. Her work has received multiple awards, and is in the institutional and private collections across the US and abroad. ‡‡‡ Robin graduated from the University of Maine at Machias with a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Fine Arts with a concentration on Visual Arts. Her work has exhibited at the Maine Farmland Trust Gallery in Belfast, Schooner Art Gallery in Milbridge, Mulholland Market Gallery in Lubec, John Edwards Wine Cellar Art Gallery in Ellsworth, and The Whitney Galleries in Wells.

Oil painting by Valerie Aponik

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New Second Floor Gallery:

Antiques and art from Downeast and the world

New Second Floor Gallery:

Art and antiques from Downeast and around the world.

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In the Footsteps of John Marin: Cape Split + Addison Artists

In the Footsteps of John Marin: Cape Split + Addison Artists

MOTHERS Gallery is delighted to announce our next exhibition featuring the art of six artists from Down East: Art Emerson, Charlene Curry, Michel Chalufour, Nancy Rankin, Nina Jerome, and Priscilla Coote. They are four painters, a photographer, ceramicist and wood turner. ‡‡‡ Famous artist John Marin summered here and his daughter-in-law ran a well-known art gallery, Cape Split Place, where they attracted a Who’s Who of leading Maine and American artists. These artists’ work is inspired by Marin’s example and informed by all aspects of Mother Nature in this ruggedly beautiful area guided by what their eyes see, hearts feels, and hands touch.

Oil painting by Priscilla Coote

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Far East to Down East II: Contemporary Japanese Art

Far East to Down East II: Contemporary Japanese Art

MOTHERS Gallery is delighted to announce a special exhibition, ‘FAR EAST TO DOWNEAST: Contemporary Japanese Art’, featuring the art of 16 artists from Sakai, near Osaka, Japan, who are members of ART BRIDGE, an international art and cultural exchange group. ‡‡‡ The artists’ work is contemporary yet created using traditional Japanese materials and methods. It is a meeting of east and west, old and new. The group has included tenured art professors at major Japanese universities, national living treasures, and professional artists. Their means of expression include painting, drawing, sculpture, print making, mixed media, glass, and calligraphy.

Painting by Junichi Hotta

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Downeast Dialogue: Valerie Aponik & Robin Rier

Coastal conversations in paint

VALERIE APONIK & ROBIN RIER have painted plein air side by side for many years but with different points of view and styles. Yet there is a visible common thread throughout their work. Robin and Valerie strive to capture the character, history and uniqueness of the places they paint in oil. They want to become part of the scene — at one with nature and all that surrounds them — by preserving their impressions and memories in paint. Valerie scans the scene all over and improvises by moving parts of the scenery around until it feels right. On the other hand, Robin finds and focuses on a scene that appeals to her as it is. And for both of them, painting outside is both a passion and an adventure. ‡‡‡ Aponik and Rier are both New Englanders and moved to Downeast Maine in the late ‘70s. In time, they raised families, had careers and reinvented themselves in the second half of life as landscape painters. They love the shore, the rocks, the timelessness and beauty of the Bold Coast, with its old wharves and buildings, and rugged scenery. ‡‡‡ Valerie gave up her nursing career to paint full time, and exhibits her work with Roux and Cyr Gallery in Portland, Archipelago in Rockland and Blue Hill Bay Gallery in Blue Hill. Her work has received multiple awards, and is in the institutional and private collections across the US and abroad. ‡‡‡ Robin graduated from the University of Maine at Machias with a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Fine Arts with a concentration on Visual Arts. Her work has exhibited at the Maine Farmland Trust Gallery in Belfast, Schooner Art Gallery in Milbridge, Mulholland Market Gallery in Lubec, John Edwards Wine Cellar Art Gallery in Ellsworth, and The Whitney Galleries in Wells.

Oil painting by Valerie Aponik

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Double Dutch by David Vosburgh

DAVID VOSBURGH was born into a family of artists in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts, and began to study art at the age of 14. His quiet, light-filled paintings possess a profound sense of place, perhaps not surprisingly as his family has lived in New England and the neighboring Hudson Valley for nearly four centuries. Since beginning to focus exclusively on landscape, his work has enjoyed growing popularity among collectors. ‡‡‡ Originally David was inspired by his love of the artists of the first truly American art movement, the 19th century Hudson River School. “I suppose it was inevitable that I should be drawn to that particular group” he says, “since my Dutch and English heritage in the border area between Western Massachusetts and the Hudson Valley stretches back more than 350 years, and that’s the area where the first-generation Hudson River painters lived and worked.” ‡‡‡ A member of several art societies in the Northeast, David is an Elected Artist member of the American Artist’s Professional League. His painting Berkshire Nocturne: Lime Kiln Road was awarded the Hudson Valley Art Association’s prize for landscape at the AAPL’s 93rd Grand National exhibition at the Salmagundi in the fall of 2021. He also exhibits as an Associate Member of the Lyme Art Association in Old Lyme, Connecticut, as well as the Rockport Art Association on Cape Ann and the Bryan Memorial Gallery in Jeffersonville, Vermont.

Oil painting by David Vosburgh

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MOTHERS NATURE by Dutav, Rahn & Sutherland

DUTAV, RAHN & SUTHERLAND: The gallery kicks off its 2023 season with a show of three painters featuring the New England landscapes of Kathleen Sutherland of Portland, ME; Vera Rahn of New Canaan, CT; and Dutav of Woodstock, NY — all mothers of MOTHERS Art Gallery. As its name proclaims, MOTHERS Art Gallery is, first and foremost, a celebration of mothers and mother nature. ‡‡‡ Dutav, born Augusta Blessman Pirrung, emigrated with her family from Germany to America. She studied at the Art Students’ League and Silvermine School of Art. Dutav painted and taught painting in the Woodstock area throughout her life, particularly at the Woodstock School of Art where she often exhibited her work. Less attracted to abstract expressionism than her fellow Woodstock artists Milton Avery and Philip Guston, Dutav used color to affirm nature’s own forms and radiance. ‡‡‡ Vera Rahn’s and Kathleen Sutherland’s biographies are below.

Oil painting by Dutav

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Cairo, Egypt to Egypt, Maine by Kathleen Sutherland

KATHLEEN SUTHERLAND paints landscapes of Maine and Egypt—and the many places in between. She works in watercolor, pastels, and oils. Kathleen was born and raised in Cairo, Egypt where her father was Dean of the American University of Cairo. He later became the President of Ricker College in Houlton, ME. Her parents retired to Jonesport in the 1960s, where her mother, Muriel, a concert pianist and organist, played at the Methodist Church on Sawyer’s Cove. ‡‡‡ Kathleen has exhibited at the Pastel Society of Maine in Bath, Harpswell, and Brunswick, the Plein Aire Painters of Damariscotta, and in other group shows in Bremen, Yarmouth, and Topsham. Her work was juried into shows by the Pastel Society of Maine in 2019, and the Arizona Pastel Society in 2021. In addition, Kathleen gives workshops on water-based oil at the Osher Life Long Learning Institute Gallery, University of Southern Maine (OLLI-USM), where she also teaches courses on the Middle East, women in Muslim countries, refugees, and sub-Saharan Africa. Her paintings showed at the OLLI-USM’s Gallery from 2010 to 2019. Her work was also published in the OLLI-USM’s Annual Arts and Literary publication Reflections in 2020 and 2021.

Oil painting by Kathleen Sutherland

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Mother Nature by Vera Rahn

VERA RAHN, a third generation artist, grew up in a family of professional artists in The Hague, Holland. Her grandparents were both painters — her grandfather, Floris Artnzenius (1864-1925), was a prominent member of The Hague School, which inspired Vincent van Gogh how to paint, and his paintings are in top collections and museums in Holland. ‡‡‡ Vera has a world of experience; she has lived in The Hague, Paris, Washington D.C., New York City, Colorado, New Jersey, Connecticut, Tokyo and London. She studied art in Paris, sumi painting in Tokyo, portrait painting in London, landscape painting in Nova Scotia, Santa Fe, the south of France and at the Silvermine School of Art. ‡‡‡ As a member of the Rowayton Art Center, Vera has won well over 30 prizes, including “Best in Show” and numerous “Honorable Mentions”. She has also won prizes at the Darien Art Show, the Art Society of Old Greenwich, The Greenwich Art Society and the Spectrum Art Exhibition. Her work has been featured by many newspapers and magazines including New Canaan Magazine and Artists and Artisans. Vera’s work is in private collections in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Washington D.C., Michigan, California, England, Holland, Germany, Australia and India.

Oil painting by Vera Rahn

Water by various artists

Art and antiques are in our blood.

Our gallery director is Whitney Vosburgh who is a fourth generation artist and gallery owner. Having lived and worked all over the world, he brings an artistic and global perspective to MOTHERS Gallery. His Dutch mother, grandmother, and great-grandfather are / were all painters and antique dealers.