This year, Pine Tree Society brought back one of its most popular holiday cards, featuring “Schooner in the Harbor” by Maine artist Richard Hasenfus. His first holiday card design for Pine Tree Society was in 1969.  That painting, “Peaceful Harbor,” still proudly hangs on Pine Tree Society’s walls today as a symbol of the long-standing tradition of this annual fundraiser. 

Hasenfus, who passed away in 2019, will always be remembered through his art and the unique way he captured Maine’s rockbound coast. A long-time resident of Georgetown, Hasenfus was born in Boston in 1932. He was an award-winning painter whose artwork is in many private, corporate, and museum collections in the United States and Europe. Throughout his life, he traveled extensively and painted the Azores, North Africa, Spain, Italy, France, Bahamas, West Indies, Bermuda, California, and Arizona.

He always returned to capturing ocean themed images of the Pine Tree State, and his holiday card painting “Schooner in the Harbor” features Maine’s beloved rocky coast and the rugged nature of the people of Maine.  In this iconic painting, cold, wind and waves will not stop the lone sailor from delivering a Christmas tree to the lighthouse keepers on this coastal island.

Hasenfus studied art at the Massachusetts College of Art, the Museum of Fine Art in Boston, and the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, Italy.  He owned a gallery in Wiscasset for decades, as well as one in Boothbay Harbor, before retiring in Georgetown.

One hundred percent of proceeds from annual holiday card sales support Pine Tree Society’s programs. Cards are available in two formats, folding and postcards, and each purchase has a very important purpose: to help Maine people with disabilities lead richer, more socially connected lives.

Holiday cards can be ordered online at www.pinetreesociety.org or by calling 207-386-5912.   

Pine Tree Society helps Maine people with disabilities lead richer, more socially connected lives. Too often, people with disabilities feel left out, even isolated. With the help of Pine Tree Society, they’re not alone. We share a spirit of innovation and desire to discover new ways to break down barriers that many find insurmountable. It started as a bold new idea in 1936 and it continues every day.