Finding Monhegan: The Perfect Giving Tree

A view of Monhegan and Manana Islands from the lighthouse

On a peaceful Sunday morning, Joe and I, along with our trusty dog, Penny Lane, set out for Monhegan Island because Susan Rayfield Wood told us we should. Susan, a Maine Ten artist, sent me an email shortly after I purchased one of her pastels at a winter art exhibit in Bath. In her note, she thanked me for appreciating her work and suggested that Joe and I visit Monhegan, an island ten miles off the Midcoast of Maine that has been inspiring artists for over one hundred years. Even though I have never met Susan, I would recognize her artwork anywhere. Her images are soulful, and her pastel, "Blue Haiku," captured Joe and I instantly! Following the creative trail of an artist is like following a trail of breadcrumbs to a secret garden, and we wanted to follow Susan's creative trail.

The garden gate of a Monhegan home

According to the 2000 census, the year-round population of Monhegan Island is 75, but every summer there are countless visitors that board a boat and take the hour long trip to the island to hike the trails and witness the beauty of nature up close and personal. In 1614, Captain John Smith  - who gave New England its name - visited Monhegan Island, and four hundred years later, on July 6, 2014, my captain and I landed on the island ready to explore as well.

Penny Lane and I in search of the perfect tree.

 To begin our quest, Joe and I drove to New Harbor, down east from Damariscotta, to board the Hardy III, and we arrived early enough to find seats on the upper deck. What an amazing view! Even our nervous sea dog, Penny, was quieted by the water's majesty. Two seasoned travelers were seated in front of us, and they turned to comment on our well behaved dog. It's funny how our pets help us to meet good people. Within a few minutes, one of the ladies introduced herself as Ellen Hutcheson, an artist who was planning to spend a week on the island. As luck and Bath would have it, Ellen gave us a brief art history lesson and pointed out Manana Island, one of her favorite subjects to paint. (As a Spanish teacher, I wanted to add the tilde and say "Mañana," but several locals assured me that Manana rhymes with banana and is not pronounced the Spanish way.) After we arrived on the island, we did not see Ellen again, but we did find many of the inspirational views that she described during our boat ride, including a "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree that begged to be photographed!  It was pure serendipity because I later discovered  that it looked just like the little evergreen tree that inspired one of Ellen's favorite watercolors. 

Our Penny Lane (a.k.a. "Charlie Brown") Christmas tree!

Like the trails of Monhegan, there's a twist to this story. When I returned home from our day's outing and went online to learn more about Ellen Hutcheson, I misspelled her sir name and discovered another Maine artist, Marieluise Hutchinson, who also visits Monhegan Island for outdoor studies. Those breadcrumbs can lead us to surprising places! But before I delve into the homemade goodness of Marieluise, I must say I enjoyed viewing the whimsical and representational art of Ellen Hutcheson on her web page. In fact, I found her painting of the little evergreen tree. Clearly, it is one of her most popular works because she has reproduced it in both poster and greeting card form; however, it's not truly a "Charlie Brown" tree because it is shorter and chubbier. Since Joe and I both photographed this adorable tree, we may use one of our Monhegan photographs to make a unique Christmas card this year. I think we will call it a "Penny Lane" Christmas tree because it's short and chubby and oh so cute! As Auntie Mame used to sing, "We need a little Christmas, right this very minute!" I suspect Monhegan Island has inspired songwriters as well as artists! Nevertheless, I know for certain that Monhegan inspired Marieluise Hutchinson and Edward Hopper (Nighthawks, 1942). Hopper actually spent four consecutive summers on Monhegan, 1916-1919, painting mostly the distinctive rock formations, like Blackhead and Gull Rock. In 2011, the Bowdoin College Art Museum offered an exhibition of Hopper's Maine paintings that included over 30 of his Monhegan pochades ("pockets"), small plein-air oil panels.

Joe's photo of the distinctive rock formations that inspired Hopper

Surprisingly, modern day photos show little change in the landscape of Monhegan Island, and living artists, like Marieluise, whose style has been called "Hopperesque," continue to paint there. It seems rather ironic that Hopper, the creator of "Nighthawks," one of my favorite paintings to view at Chicago's Art Institute, influenced Marieluise. While most people can identify with the loneliness of the urban "Nighthawks," they yearn for the "Perfect Tree," which was inspired by a row of homes near Owl Head, south of Rockland. Marieluise resides in Cushing, Maine and Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and she prefers to paint real places. To find out more about this authentic New England artist, I recently visited Bayview Gallery in Brunswick, which has several of her oil paintings on display. The Monhegan houses, in winter and summer, as well as the classic lighthouse, seem to jump off the wall and embrace you with a big hug, and that is the obvious difference between Hopper and Hutchinson. Marieluise offers us the same crispness without the darkness. Her solitude calms us like the quiet after a snowstorm. Viewing Marieluise's "The Perfect Tree" is like watching "White Christmas" and listening to the low and high notes of Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney. In a December, 2013 article published in the Portland Press Herald, Susan Starr, the co-owner of Bayview Gallery, said "Marieluise's images make it very easy to compose a story." One could make a similar observation of Hopper's "Nighthawks," and his urban paintings that followed his Monhegan summers. Both artists have used their brush and paints to create visual narratives that capture a feeling in a familiar setting. Typically, Marieluise conveys a sentiment without a single person in her painting. The light in the window, the wreath on the door, or the smoke from the chimney stir up our memories and take us to that safe place. Robert Colburn, the director of  Bayview Gallery, told me that "Perfect Tree" sold recently, and I am not surprised, but in my dreams I find that perfect tree first! 

The Pine Tree Society's Christmas card by Marieluise Hutchinson

In his December 25, 2013 article for the Portland Press Herald, North Cairn reported that 825,000 people around the world spied a picture of rural New England last December because Marieluise Hutchinson donated her painting, "The Way of Wintertime," to the Red Cross, and the Red Cross used the image for their holiday card. Each year Marieluise paints a winter scene in October to be offered to a charitable organization. In 2003, 2008, and 2012, The Pine Tree Society of Bath, featured one of Marieluise's winter scenes on their annual Christmas card. The cards are sold in packages of 25 to raise funds for Pine Tree's herculean efforts to help Maine people with disabilities maximize their abilities. The Society was established in 1947 as the Pine Tree Society for Crippled Children. In that same year, the granddaughters of Mr. John Sedgwick Hyde, a past president of Bath Iron Works, donated their Elmhurst Mansion to be used as a rehabilitation hospital for victims of the polio epidemic. Today, the  Hyde School, a private preparatory school, occupies the mansion and grounds, but in 1947 this Bath home provided hope to young children afflicted with a terrifying disease. As a child of the late 1950's, I often tell my high school students that I was among the first generation of school children to be vaccinated against polio, and I feel enormously blessed! The Pine Tree Society's mission is beyond noble, and in many ways it represents the perfect giving tree. Needless to say, I purchased a few packages of their  Christmas cards, which were designed exclusively for Pine Tree by Marieluise Hutchinson, and through giving I discovered that dreams can come true. I will mail the cards to friends and family, but I will keep one to remember the glow of a perfect tree as well as the beautiful joy of giving. Yes, sometimes we need a little Christmas in July!

On the "Penny Lane" trail!