GARDINER — The public is invited to historic downtown Gardiner on Saturday, Oct. 4, to experience the Harlow Gallery’s third annual Art at Home tour. A unique twist on the usual garden/house-tour model, Art at Home offers a self-guided cultural tour of nine unique sites.

Ticket holders will enjoy a stop on the Bernard Langlais tour at the First Baptist Church of Gardiner, vintage art of historic significance in the collection of the Gardiner Public Library, architectural tours of the 150-year-old Johnson Hall, an open house at Spin Off Studios, and a look at the personal art collections of five Gardiner homeowners.

The participating homes, all in or near downtown Gardiner, were selected to showcase not only their residents’ art collections, but also their relationships with their art, and the way art and living space are integrated in their personal spaces.

Organizers will provide ticket holders with a detailed program guide including a map, and information on the individual collections. Volunteer docents will be present at each site to answer questions and give directions.

“Art at Home” ticket holders will be encouraged to explore Gardiner’s fine dining and shopping establishments, many of whom will be offering promotional discounts to ticket holders all day long, and these will be listed in the program guide. Ticket holders will be entered in a random prize drawing that will take place at an end-of-tour reception at 2:30 p.m. at Johnson Hall, 280 Main Street — must be present to win.

Ticket prices are $25 in advance or $30 the day of the event which starts at 9:30am. For tickets, call 207-622-3813, email kvaa@harlowgallery.org or visit http://harlowgallery.org/art-at-home-gardiner/

Participating sites:

The Carnes Collection — Housed in a Federal-style home built in 1798 and overlooking the Kennebec River, the Carnes collection includes work by Dalov Ipcar, George Bellows, Peggy Bacon, John Calvin Stevens, Peter De Wint, Everett Shinn, Hayes Miller, James Penny and Ed Mackenzie; work by local artists Yeshe Parks, Karen Adrienne, Nancy Barron, Judith Long, Judy Schuppien, Scott Minzy and Jim Creighton; and the work of homeowner and artist John Carnes.

The Demers McKeen Collection — Visitors will enjoy a quirky and eclectic collection of art, antiques and vintage artifacts housed in an apartment in the old Christian Science Church. The space features original elements from the church such as tin walls and ceilings as well as part of the stage from the sanctuary. The art studio shared by Matt Demers and Allison McKeen will also be open.

First Baptist Church of Gardiner — Designed and built by architect John Calvin Stevens in 1891 and restored in 2006, the First Baptist Church provides a perfect setting for work by the late Maine artist Bernard Langlais. Four Langlais works were gifted to the church by Colby College and the Kohler Foundation, and the church is an official stop on the Langlais Art Trail. Visitors may view a short film on the history and restoration of Langlais’s art and home in Cushing.

Gardiner Public Library — Designed by Henry Richards and built of Gardiner brick in 1881, GPL was the second public library built in the state of Maine. Carefully renovated and restored over the last decade, the library continues to welcome visitors in its timeless splendor. Ticket holders will have the rare opportunity to view a historic stage curtain by Monmouth native and muralist Harry H. Cochrane who worked in Gardiner in the 1880s. The curtain was rediscovered and restored during the recent renovations and is rarely displayed publicly. Guests will also view watercolors by Gardiner native Carol Bates (1893-1957). Bates trained with Eliot O’Hara and later taught at his coastal watercolor school and her work is included in the collections of the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland. Bates herself described her work as “fantasy based on nature.”

Johnson Hall — Ticket holders will enjoy guided tours of this 150-year-old theater, with a history dating back to 1864, one year before Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. At the turn of the century, a local newspaper described Johnson Hall Theater as “one of the most popular in Maine.” Musical programs then ranged from opera through minstrelsy, trained animal acts and dramatic productions. In the early twentieth century “moving pictures” replaced live theater at Johnson Hall until the late 1950?s. Ticket holders are invited to an end-of-tour reception at Johnson Hall starting at 2:30 p.m., with prizes and refreshments.

The Lash Collection — Central Street School was built in 1887 and was used as a school for nearly 100 years. In 2006 sculptor Robert Lash and his wife Amy Rees converted the building into a private home and art studio. Guests will enjoy Lash’s signature metal sculptural work and examples of his early work in clay vessels as well as a collection of paintings and silk screen prints including work by Dorr Bothwell, Phyllis Rees, Adrienne Beacham, Scott Minzy, Michael Ellis Allen, Alan Tuttle, Nancy Keenan Barron and Matt Demers.

Spin Off Studio — A new art program based in Gardiner serving the greater-Augusta area, SpinOff Studio is a nonprofit gallery and creative space for adults with disabilities. Guests will enjoy work by artists in the program working in a range of mediums including drawing, painting, weaving, printmaking, silk screening, sculpture and much more.

The Woytowicz Collection — Includes artworks from the mid-19th century to the present with a focus on artists of Maine and Provincetown, with a few notable additions, displayed in a pleasing Victorian-style home amidst decorative objets d’art. Subject matter ranges from traditional seascapes and landscapes to modern works.

The Zardus Collection — This Tudor-style, 24-room, former church rectory, now home to Zardus Art of Massage and Wellness Spa, was constructed in 1931 and boasts beautiful oak woodwork and wood floors throughout its three levels. The Zardus collection encompasses owner Theresa Zardus’ own personal Chakra artwork plus original work by many local artists including Judith Schuppien, Nancy Barron, Malley Webber, Bill Haley, Marie Spaulding and Brian Cyr.

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