Some American Stories

September 26, 2024–Ongoing

Lunder Wing

Some American Stories is a thematic presentation of works from the Colby collection in the museum’s Lunder Wing that leads visitors on a journey from before the founding of the United States to the present day. Each gallery represents a different topic within the broader narrative of American art and history, reflecting a great diversity of experiences. The subjects addressed are revolutions, the art of Maine, trade, the Civil War, nineteenth-century landscape painting, the American West, the role of women in the Gilded Age, neoclassical sculpture, religion, and the influence of folk art on American modernism. More than thirty contributors have written texts for the galleries. They include curators, museum educators, Colby faculty and students, scholars, community members, and artists, each of whom brings their unique perspectives to the objects on view. The installation presents paintings, sculptures, decorative arts, and works on paper, which are prominently featured in a dedicated gallery that will showcase new displays every six months.

Some American Stories is curated by Sarah Humphreville, Lunder Curator of American Art, with Augusta Weiss, Anne Lunder Leland Curatorial Fellow. The Gourley Gallery works on paper installation is curated by Elisa Germán, Lunder Curator of Works on Paper and Whistler Studies.

This project is made possible through Colby Museum endowment funds provided by the Lunder Foundation, as well as the generous support of Alice Kang P’21 P’26 and OhSang Kwon P’21 P’26 and the Terra Foundation for American Art.

Edmonia Lewis, Arrow Maker, c. 1868. Marble, 11 ½ × 8 ½ × 6 ½ in. (29 × 22 × 17 cm). Gift of Jane, Richard, and David Moss in honor of Doris Rose Hopengarten ’40, Fred Hopengarten ’67, Annie Hopengarten Mooreville ’06, Phyllis Rose Baskin ’39, and Michael Baskin ’70, 2023.014.

Selected Works

James McNeill Whistler, Chelsea in Ice, 1864. Oil on canvas, 17 3/4 × 24 in. (45.1 × 61 cm). The Lunder Collection, 2013.293.

Virgil Williams, Mount Katahdin from the West Branch of the Penobscot, 1870. Oil on canvas, 26 ¼ × 40 in. (66.7 × 101.6 cm). The Lunder Collection, 001.2008.

Sarah Sockbeson (Penobscot), Untitled Basket, 2023. Aluminum house siding, found vinyl, enamel spray paint, found plastic, faux leather, 12 × 12 × 12 in. (30 × 30 × 30 cm). Museum purchase from the Jetté Acquisitions Fund, 2023.046.

Norman Lewis, Untitled , 1961. Oil on paper, 26 × 40 in. (66 × 102 cm). The Lunder Collection.

Sanford Robinson Gifford. A Twilight in the Adirondacks, 1864. Oil on canvas, 10 1/2 × 18 1/2 in. (26.7 × 47 cm). The Lunder Collection, 2013.130P.

Thomas Wilmer Dewing, The Song , 1891. Oil on canvas, 26 ½ × 34 in. (67.3 × 86.4 cm). The Lunder Collection, 2013.111.

Probably Clara Driscoll for Tiffany Studios, Pony Begonia Lamp, c. 1905–10. Leaded glass on bronze base, 16 ½ × 13 ¼ × 13 ¼ in. (41.9 × 33.7 × 33.7 cm). The Lunder Collection, 051.2012.

Tony Abeyta (Diné/Navajo), Citadel, 2021. Oil on linen, 40 × 60 in. (102 × 152 cm). The Lunder Collection, 2021.246.

Agnes Pelton, Being, c. 1923–26. Oil on canvas, 26 × 21 ⅞ in. (66 × 56 cm). Gift of Laurie M. Tisch, Museum purchase from the Jere Abbott Acquisition Fund, and gift of Peter and Paula Lunder, The Lunder Collection, 2023.061.

Click on any image above to see captions and view larger.

Banner image: Winslow Homer, The Trapper, 1870. Oil on canvas, 19 1/16 × 29 ½ in. (48.5 × 74.9 cm). Gift of Mrs. Harold T. Pulsifer, 1949.002.