Island Institute Launches 25th Anniversary with show of NEW WORK by Peter Ralston

photo by Peter Ralston

The Island Institute turns 25 this summer and will launch its silver anniversary with an extensive show of new work by Peter Ralston, well-known photographer of the Maine coast and the Institute’s executive vice-president and co-founder.  The show’s opening reception and kick-off celebration of this quarter-century mark will take place on Wednesday, July 2, from 3:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Archipelago Fine Arts gallery, located in the Institute’s headquarters building, 386 Main Street in Rockland. 

Philip Conkling, founder and president of the Island Institute, hopes that people will be inspired by Ralston’s most recent portrayals of the hauntingly beautiful places that sparked the founding of the Island Institute so many years ago. “At a time when island communities face challenges to their survival as never before, Peter’s imagery reminds all of us – here at the Institute and beyond – what we’re fighting for,” said Conkling.  “With the support of our nearly 4,800 members and a tremendously committed board of trustees, we will continue to help ensure that Maine’s islands and working coastal communities remain vibrant places to live and work.”

Hailed by Daniel E. O’Leary, director of the Portland Art Museum, as “the direct spiritual descendent of Winslow Homer in his loving and solemn response to the Maine coast,” Ralston has logged thousands of nautical miles since his introduction in 1978 – by his lifelong friends Andrew and Betsy Wyeth – to the austere beauty of Maine’s archipelago. Author of Sightings: A Maine Coast Odyssey in 1997 and published in scores of books and magazines, Ralston is rarely without his camera.  He and Conkling will be on hand for the festivities on July 2^nd as well as the Institute’s Open House anniversary celebration on August 8^th and 9^th from noon to 5:00 p.m.  The “New Work” show will run until Saturday, October 25^th, and an image gallery is available to  the right.