The Maine Print Project, encompassing 25 exhibitions from Portland to Presque Isle, celebrates that history. The shows, some of which run through March, range from solo exhibits to historic surveys to theme-based exhibitions; they are accompanied by a handsome book written by David P. Becker , "The Imprint of Place: Maine Printmaking 1800-2005."
This vast project embraces Maine artists of national stature, from Winslow Homer to Alex Katz, often side by side with local artists. There's Frances Hodsdon , who founded the printmaking studio at the Round Top Center for the Arts in Damariscotta; her moody and elegant lithographic self-portrait is included in "Maine Printmakers: 1980-2005" at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockport. Illustrator Peggy Bacon , a resident of Cape Porpoise until her death in 1987, shared her wry and generous vision of human foibles in prints such as "Maine Problems," depicting a town meeting, on view in "A Century of Maine Prints: 1880s-1980s" at the Portland Museum of Art.
Becker's book deftly walks the reader through printmaking trends, from the etching revival of the late 19th century to the rise of fine art presses such as Patricia Nick's Vinalhaven Press in the 1980s. He touches on local details, such as the short-lived Grand Central School of Art in Eastport in the 1920s and '30s. He balances tradition with innovation and covers a variety of techniques .
Given the breadth of Maine printmaking, it's hard to characterize. "It's a northern aesthetic," allows Becker, padding through the Portland Museum show in sneakers, jeans, and a sweater. "Not a tropical atmosphere."
That hints at the palette. But there's also something about the graphic power of printmaking that fits the state's rugged, rocky landscape and Mainers' famed independence and reserve.
"Printmakers start with a line on the plate, a crayon on the stone," Becker says. "Color is hard. The process is indirect. . . . You don't know how it will turn out. It's more about graphic strength and light than color."
