Bar Harbor’s Original Influencers Were Armed With Paintbrushes. Bar Harbor Historical Society event connects 19th-century painters, contemporary creators, and the community that supports them. You can visit the exhibit all week for free!
arts, news

Bar Harbor’s Original Influencers Were Armed With Paintbrushes.

Bar Harbor Historical Society event connects 19th-century painters, contemporary creators, and the community that supports them. You can visit the exhibit all week for free!

Carrie Jones

Jul 22, 2026

A smiling elderly man stands behind two women sitting at a table, one holding a drink. The woman on the left has long hair and glasses, wearing a colorful patterned shirt, while the woman on the right has dark hair and glasses, wearing a teal dress. The background features an ornate wallpaper and a staircase.

The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Edward Jones Financial Advisor: Elise N. Frank.

Edward Jones advertisement featuring Elise N. Frank, a financial advisor in Bar Harbor, supporting the community since 2016.

BAR HARBOR—Despite the rain, Saturday, more than 170 people headed to LaRochelle, on West Street, the home of the Bar Harbor Historical Society to celebrate the connection of artists to the town’s history and also to help raise funds to preserve that history and share it with locals and visitors alike.

Art isn’t just for the artists. History isn’t just for the historians. The stories that shape our island? Same thing. They are for all of us.

The Bar Harbor Historical Society (BHHS) has been steadfastly marching forward with that message through one accessible event after another.

This year’s Hudson to Harbor event, which began Saturday, continues throughout the week as 30 contemporary artists influenced by Maine exhibit at La Rochelle from July 20 to 24. Testa’s catered Saturday’s event.

A group of people chatting on a porch with a brick wall background. Some individuals are standing while one person is seated, wearing a blue dress with a pattern. An informal gathering atmosphere is evident.
Two men engaged in a serious conversation outdoors, with a blurred green background.
A framed oil painting titled 'Little Long Pond Lilies' by Joan Vienot, featuring a colorful impressionistic landscape with water and lily pads, displayed on a wall alongside another artwork.
Two men standing at a table with food and drinks at a gathering, with a brick wall and doorway in the background.

“A significant impact of the Hudson River School’s presence in Bar Harbor is its contribution to the American conservation movement. The dramatic landscapes these artists depicted helped fuel a broader appreciation for preserving natural spaces. Bar Harbor’s identity as an artistic destination remains strong. The influence of the Hudson River School still forms a key part of the town’s artistic DNA,” BHHS Executive Director Erin Cough said last year.

The annual event is a homage to, and in the tradition of, the Hudson Valley artists despite the difference in artists’ styles. The Hudson River School was an art movement in the middle of the 19th Century that had been influenced by Romanticism and originally focused on Hudson River Valley, New York. The paintings tend to reflect the themes of settlement, discovery, and exploration, and are pastoral, realistic, detailed, and often idealized when illuminating nature.

But it’s more than that.

It’s also about the artists who are here now, seeing the landscape now, creating vision and community now, continuing to create a visual story of who we are.

“The goal of this event is to celebrate and honor the artists and the culture that they brought to the island. We have to remember that the attraction to Bar Harbor started as an artist colony loving the island like the residents do,” Cough said.

A group of three people engaged in conversation indoors, with a wooden door in the background. The man is holding a can and gesturing with his hand, while the two women listen attentively.
A group of six people sitting together in a relaxed indoor setting, engaged in conversation. The scene features two women and four men, with drinks on a wooden table.
A painting depicting a rocky landscape with colorful foliage, displayed in an art gallery setting. The scene features gray rocks, green trees, and hints of orange and red autumn leaves.
Three people engaged in conversation at an event, with artwork displayed in the background. One person has pink hair, while another holds a drink.
Two children sitting on a wooden plank in the water, with a rocky shore and houses in the background on a sunny day.
A wood block print of Bob Clark’s via Lisa Horsch Clark

Hudson to Harbor is Bar Harbor Historical Society’s annual fundraising event that celebrates the history of art on the island with the dynamic contemporary presence of artists in Maine and here on MDI continuing that legacy.

“The event was incredibly successful. I would like to thank everyone who came out, bought raffle tickets, volunteered, and participated. The Bar Harbor Historical Society is grateful for all the support, and it really shows the importance of community,” Cough said.

Art exhibited during this event will be available for purchase, with half of the proceeds going to the artists and half being donated to the Historical Society.

“Hudson to Harbor is the primary fundraiser for the Bar Harbor Historical Society,” said Director of Engagement Nikki Moser. “It is a celebration of the history of artists in Maine, from the Wabanaki to the Hudson River School Painters. The exhibit is open this week 10 a.m. -2 p.m. free and open to the public.”

A BIT ABOUT HUDSON TO HARBOR’S HISTORY

A group of people gathered on a porch, engaged in conversation, with a scenic view of the water in the background.
Three women engaged in conversation at a social event, with one woman holding a card and another wearing a purple shawl. Background features a staircase and artwork.
Two people discussing artwork at an art exhibition, with framed paintings visible in the background.

Way back on September 3, 1844, the painter, Thomas Cole, came across the state of Maine and ended up at Lynam’s farmhouse on Schooner Head in Bar Harbor.

Bar Harbor wasn’t the first Maine stop for the founder of the Hudson River school of painting. He’d been to Penobscot Bay, Beech Mountain, and then finally came to Mount Desert Island’s northeast shore. Once here, looking out at the Atlantic and up at the mountains, he pulled out his sketchbook and the future of Mount Desert Island, and Bar Harbor, was made.

When he left Maine, he went back to New York and spoke of the island’s praises. One year, he brought Frederick Edwin Church and eventually multiple leaders in the world of American Art. They all painted and drew on the Bar Harbor plain and along the craggy coastline. Their paintings of the island? They sold, which gave them another motive and a means to return. And those images tempted other rusticators, sportsmen, boaters, and scientists.

A passage from a book discussing the lifestyle of young artists in Bar Harbor, Maine, in the 19th century. It reflects on their friendships with local residents and their appreciation for a simple, joyful life.
Via The Story of Bar Harbor, Richard Walden Hale (1949)

Shortly after the Civil War concluded, Bar Harbor began to grow again.

But even before the Hudson Valley artists arrived, Wabanaki artists crafted and created and then early settlers also created while on the island.

MORE ABOUT BAR HARBOR HISTORICAL SOCIETY

A man in a striped green shirt is engaged in conversation with two people, one of whom has blonde hair. The setting appears to be indoors with a staircase in the background.
Framed artwork featuring a sketch of a structure inside a circular frame, mounted on a wooden background.
Two men converse near an open door, with one holding a drink. In the background, a group of people engage in conversation and enjoy food at a gathering.

The Bar Harbor Historical Society is a community and institutional leader that welcomes residents and visitors alike to discover the past in order to understand the present, and to take pride in community connections. It is a dynamic, bustling regional center for research, dialogue, and learning where stories are told through multiple media daily. Its mission is to effectively display, preserve, and interpret Bar Harbor’s rich past through its unique collections, ensuring access, enjoyment, and educational opportunities for all.

LINKS TO LEARN AND DO MORE

A collection of framed artworks for sale, including landscapes and abstract pieces, with titles and prices listed beneath each painting.
Via the Hudson to Harbor page on BHHS’ site.

You can purchase art online here.

You can learn more about the Bar Harbor Historical Society here.

There are more photos on our Facebook page here.

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