In Focus: The Figure Today, on view this January in Rockland, Maine, is one of two exhibitions at the Farnsworth Art Museum curated from its permanent collection to re-examine narratives in American art across time and media. It runs alongside In Focus: Early American Art, which focuses on historical artworks.
“Together, these installations celebrate the museum’s collection while activating it through more frequent rotations of our approximately 16,000 works,” explains chief curator Jaime DeSimone. “This initiative provides an opportunity to revisit key holdings, respond in real time to new acquisitions and contemporary trends, and highlight evolving curatorial interests.”
Bo Bartlett, Return of the Three Graces from Exile, 2009, oil on linen, 82 x 82 in. Gift of Judith Liff Barker & Joseph N. Barker, 2024.21.
Collectively, the exhibitions include objects and artworks such as Wabanaki Confederacy baskets from the 1930s, early 20th-century watercolors by Winslow Homer and oils by Fitz Henry Lane to more recent paintings by Alex Katz, Katherine Bradford, Keith Jackson, Reggie Burrows Hodges, and others that emphasize the innovative ways artists continue to approach the human form.
Featuring 12 works by artists with ties to Maine, In Focus: The Figure Today is anchored by major recent acquisitions by painters Bo Bartlett, Jamie Wyeth and Ruby Sky Stiller.
Bartlett is represented by his massive oil Return of the Three Graces from Exile,which he painted in 2009, and the museum acquired in 2024. In this work, Barlett, who is known for complex figurative scenes that blend classical and contemporary themes and styles, turns his attention to the mythological sisters who embodied the qualities of beauty, charm and creativity in Greek and Roman lore.
James (Jamie) Wyeth, Breakfast at Sea, 1984, oil on canvas, 36 x 46¼ in. Gift of A. James and Alice B. Clark, 2024.30.2.
“These additions helped shape the decision to dedicate the gallery to the theme of the figure—a subject that has long been central to artists working in Maine,” adds DeSimone. “The works in The Figure Today reflect the enduring power of the figure in American art through their shared focus on the human form as a timeless and emotionally resonant subject. Drawing exclusively from the Farnsworth’s collection, the artists represented demonstrate how figuration continues to evolve as a vehicle for storytelling, identity and connection.” Visit the museum website for exact closing date. —
In Focus: The Figure Today
January 2026
Farnsworth Art Museum
16 Museum Street , Rockland, ME 04841
(207) 596-6457, farnsworthmuseum.org
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