The Bowdoin College Museum of Art (BCMA) presents "East-Northeast: Charting Moments in Maine," a series of four exhibitions running in summer 2025 that highlight artists inspired by Maine. The shows include Gordon Parks’s previously unseen 1944 photographs of rural life, John McKee’s coastal series "As Maine Goes" (first public viewing since 1966), Ann Craven’s lunar paintings from 2020 and 2024, and films by Swiss-American artist Rudy Burckhardt. The exhibitions span from June 28 to November 9, 2025, with a keynote lecture by Philip Brookman on June 28.
This cluster of exhibitions matters because it brings to light overlooked or rarely shown works by major 20th-century artists, offering fresh perspectives on Maine’s enduring influence on American art. At a time of intense climate change discussions, McKee’s historical coastal views and Parks’s documentation of rural life provide timely reflections on environmental and social change. The shows also underscore BCMA’s role in rediscovering regional art histories and connecting them to broader national narratives.