The trajectory of art history on Monhegan was forever changed when a group of New York City artists discovered the Monhegan muse after World War II. We explore the work of twelve artists who lived in New York in the winter, and spent summers on Monhegan Island. They met at art school or through the Federal Art Project created during the Depression. On Monhegan, they made up a large part of the post World War II art community, choosing the island for its affordability, inspiration, and isolation. They shared close friendships, engaging in sketching groups, art critiques, and poker games with the year-rounders; but at the same time respected each other’s need for creative space. Together they contributed to the revitalization of the art colony on Monhegan Island in the mid-twentieth-century.
Above: Henry Kallem, “Monhegan Moonlight,” Monhegan Museum Collection, gift of Alice Peters
Home page: Remo Farruggio, “Cliffs and Red”, 1951. Oil on Masonite, 18 3/4 x 21 1/2 in. Monhegan Museum Collection, gift of Eve Stein