Contemporary buildings with tall glass windows, people walking in between

Maine Art Museum Trail

Center for Maine Contemporary Art

In American art history, Maine emerged as an artistic destination in the mid-1800s, but the state’s rocky coast, lakes, rivers, and trees have been a creative inspiration for millennia, reflected in Wabanaki artistic traditions, such as basketry, beadwork, quillwork, carving, and canoe decoration.

But beginning in the mid-1800s, painters – particularly landscape painters – began journeying to the state specifically to capture its wild places and working waterfronts on canvas. By the late 1800s, places like Monhegan Island and Ogunquit were recognized as destinations where artists stayed for the summer to teach and work.

The work of many of those artists can be found around the state today in museums, galleries, and even unexpected places. In the late 1990s, several of the state’s leading art institutions worked together to create the Maine Art Museum Trail, a 350-mile route linking ten museums across the landscape that inspired – and still inspires – the many artists who visited and lived here.

Author: Stephanie Bouchard

Maine Art Museum Trail

Glass building that's an art museum, students walking in front — Colby College Museum of Art. Photo by Jeremy Bittermann.

Brick wooden building at the corner of an intersection — Farnsworth Art Museum. Photo: Maine Office of Tourism.

Old white farmhouse with American flag hanging off side, lighthouse in background — The Monhegan Museum of Art & History is housed at the historic Monhegan Light Station. Photo: Monhegan Museum of Art & History.

Lush garden and trees, looking out onto ocean with boats floating — Beautiful view from the gardens at the Ogunquit Museum of American Art. Photo: Ogunquit Museum of American Art.

Photo at dusk of angular brick building with lights on inside — Bates College Museum of Art. Photo: Bates College Museum of Art.

Group of people bundled up in winter clothes, standing around a tree with lights — Tree lighting at the Portland Museum of Art. Photo: Portland Museum of Art.

Painting in art gallery of flowers on white white, artist credits and name to left — A recent exhibit at the Zillman Museum of Art. Photo: Zillman Museum of Art.

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