If you drive from Thomaston, Maine, down River Road
toward Cushing, you will very likely see this large (my guess is around 10-15
feet high) horse on the side of the road. It’s a sculpture by Bernard Langlais,
who lived on the property where the horse stands.
I first became aware of the artist Bernard Langlais
around 40 years ago, when I worked at the Bancroft School, in its residential
program for children and adults with developmental disabilities. One of the
advantages of working at Bancroft was spending summers at the camp the school
owned in Owls Head, Maine. Sometimes on a day off we would ride by Langlais’
home in Cushing. His front yard held a number of large wooden sculptures that
always fascinated us. Sometimes we would ride past very slowly, to better enjoy
those works of art, unaware that we could have stopped and gotten a closer look
at not only the ones we could see from the road, but others that were located
on the property. During one of those summers, my wife, Pat, and I purchased a
small print done by Langlais that hung in our home for many years. It now hangs
in the room of one of our grandchildren.
Here’s a photo of it.
During our most recent trip to Maine this summer, we
visited the Langlais property again. Our friends, Jeff and Linda, whom we were
visiting, told us that they had read that the property was open to the public.
We learned that the property and his works had been donated to Colby College by
his widow. Colby College donated 3,000 of his works to the Kohler Foundation,
which is working on restoring some of the pieces. (Yes, this Foundation is
related to the Kohler company that makes bathroom fixtures and faucets, etc.)
During a discussion with a Maine artist who is assisting in the project, we
learned that many of the works will be given to facilities within the State of
Maine (e.g., museums, colleges, high schools) at no cost to them. One
stipulation is that, if the facility no longer wants the piece, it must be
returned to the Kohler Foundation, which will find a new home for it.
Many of the larger outdoor sculptures will remain on
the Cushing property, which will be turned over to the Georges River Land Trust
of Rockland, Maine. The Land Trust will maintain the property as a sculpture
park, which will be accessible to the public. During our visit in August, we
were able to walk the trail and see the outdoor sculptures, as well as some
smaller pieces which are kept indoors. Here are three pictures from that
tour. You can see more pictures on my Facebook page.
I’ve been wondering why I like the Langlais
sculptures. One reason, I think,
is that they are unexpected. You’re driving down a country road past houses,
barns and fields and, all of a sudden, here are these large sculptures.
Currently, from the road, you can see the horse and the football players
pictured above. Some of the other
sculptures that were visible from the road forty years ago are now hidden by
trees that have grown up. Another
reason I like the sculptures is their simplicity and accessibility. Their subject
matter is frequently things we don’t come into contact with in our daily lives
(e.g., elephants, bears, lions) but the finished pieces seem very
down-to-earth. A description of Langlais’ work for an exhibit at the AlexandreGallery in NYC earlier this year referred to his “rough, folk-inspired animal
carvings”. An article in the Portland Press Herald in March 2013 described his
“oversized, whimsical wooden sculptures". I think the whimsicality of his work
is another aspect that makes me appreciate his pieces. (If you look at the photos on my Facebook page, you’ll see the outstretched arms of Richard Nixon,
making the victory/peace sign with his fingers. The sculpture is from the torso
up and grass has grown up around him, like he has sunken into the swamp.)
You can learn more about Bernard Langlais from the
links in this blog and from googling his name. Enjoy the experience!
