“Generations,” a special exhibition at Maine Art Gallery (MAG) in Wiscasset, is underway at the historic Old Academy Building on Warren Street. The show is free to the public and viewable Thursday-Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. through June 10.

The exhibit marks the 65th anniversary of MAG’s founding in 1958 by local resident artist and writer Mildred Burrage (1890-1993). “Generations” presents works of selected artists from the gallery’s founding years, most on loan from other galleries and private collections, and many accompanied with black and white portraits taken by David Etnier, of the artists at work. Thoughtful memorabilia of the period are on display as well, notably Andrew Wyeth’s sketchbook journal of a sail he took with wife Betsy on a cutter from Popham to Jonesport in July 1940.

To complete the theme, the first floor of the gallery has a juried show of MAG’s current member artists and invited contemporaries. “The exhibition represents the evolving, intergenerational, and vital Maine art scene,” said Carl Little, poet, author and Rabkin Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award winner. Little is guest curator and juror for “Generations” and gave opening remarks at the Saturday, May 6 reception.

Selected artists from the early years include Gene Klebe, F.W. Saunders, William Kienbusch, William Thon, Marguerite Zorach, Dahlov Ipcar, John Heliker, Laurence Sisson and Stephen Etnier. Primary focus is given Burrage as founder of the gallery.

Burrage’s artistic accomplishments are hard to contain in one style. “Burrage’s body of work was continually evolving and included a wide range of subjects and substance. Burrage produced historical maps, European landscapes, posters for the U.S. military, portraits, illustrations for Kenneth Robert's novels, sculpture, and finally abstract mica paintings inspired by Jackson Pollack,” reads MAG’s website. Her work is indexed at the Smithsonian.

Her ties to Wiscasset include her dedication to historic preservation. In 1954, she helped found Lincoln County Historical Association and she was a former director of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Maine State Historian Earle Shettleworth Jr. and art restorer Peter Fogg will discuss their personal memories of Burrage on Thursday, May 18, at 5 p.m. Her papers are held in the Maine Women Writers Collection of University of New England.

Burrage was born in Portland and pursued art her entire life. At 12, she began art lessons with Alice Howes and studied art at Mary Colman Wheeler School. Her studies took her abroad to the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris, Brittany, Venice and Rome. She returned to the U.S. upon the outbreak of World War I and lived in Kennebunkport before moving to Wiscasset in 1947, according to New England Magazine, Edgar Allen Bee, 2012.

Barrage is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Portland, according to Maine Women Writers Collection; Mildred Burrage Collection 1956-1991, ArchiveSpace, 2017.

According to the collection, Burrage was a columnist for the Boothbay Register from 1956 to 1960.

MAG’s press release states that Wednesday, May 24, at 4 p.m., artist and writer Robert Beck will talk about painting the working maritime community and practical matters of making a living as an artist. In the final talk of this series on Thursday, June 1, at 5 p.m. David Etnier, son of Steven Etnier, one of MAG’s founding artists, will share his experiences photographing many of Maine’s most accomplished artists. Twenty-one of his black-and-white portraits are featured in the show.

The expanded artist talks let the public engage with the exhibit on diverse levels of understanding and perspective. The exhibit’s kickoff party pulled in nearly 300 people, many who plan to come back. 

Exhibit sponsors include Dow Furniture, whose founder worked on legislation with Burrage; and season sponsor Sherri Dunbar of Tim Dunham Realty.