about Island
"An Island backed like a Whale..." Captain John Smith's log entry on seeing Monhegan Island for the first time in 1614. . . The name Monhegan derives from Monchiggon, Algonquian for "out-to-sea island." The island got its start as a British fishing camp prior to settlement of the Plymouth Colony. Cod was harvested from the rich fishing grounds of the Gulf of Maine, then dried as fish flakes before shipment to Europe. A trading post was built to conduct business with the Indians, particularly in the lucrative fur trade. It was Monhegan traders who taught English to Samoset, the sagamore who in 1621 startled the Pilgrims by boldly walking into their new village at Plymouth and saying: "Welcome, Englishmen." . . . During King Philip's War, dispossessed English settlers from the mainland sought refuge on the island before being relocated elsewhere along the coast. During King William's War, the island was captured for the French in 1689 by Baron de Saint-Castin. He destroyed the fishing fleet and burned the buildings, with many inhabitants escaping to Massachusetts. But even during periods when Monhegan was abandoned, its convenient offshore harbor remained a stopover destination for ships. The conclusion of the French and Indian War in 1763 brought peace to the area, and on September 4, 1839, Monhegan was incorporated as an island plantation. . In 1850 a 48 foot tall granite lighthouse was built on the island, with a fog bell station built in 1855 on nearby Manana Island. The island's 1,000 acres of good land encouraged agriculture, with potatoes the chief crop. But fishing and particularly lobstering, was always the most important industry. Today it still dominates Monhegan’s economy. . . . Summer months bring artists and tourists on a daily Mail Boat to see amazing ocean views and migrating island birds. Much of Monhegan is uninhabited and free to explore on 17 miles of dirt hiking trails. Monhegan only recently installed its own source of electricity, and the island is still widely regarded as quaint and unspoiled. The beginnings of the art colony on Monhegan date to the mid-19th century; by 1890, it was firmly established. Among many prominent artists who have found inspiration on the island are Robert Henri, Edward Hopper and Rockwell Kent. After World War II many New York artists settled on the island for the summer months. Among them Joe DeMartini, Hans Moeller, Reuben Tam, Zero Mostel, and my father Charles Martin, who built a studio overlooking the meadow, next to the Yellow House be purchased in 1960. . . . .ISLAND CAPTIONS ----SUNSET PORCH - The riddle of whether light creates color or color bends and so creates light is complicated. My son Christian is attempting to resolve the puzzle seated on the porch in the early evening twilight of the last day of spring of the year 2010. Monhegan island is a good place for this kind of experimentation. The light is pure, the air clear, the color abundant. . . OUTWARD BOUND - Monhegan Island is situated in the effluence of Penobscot Bay, a huge area dotted with hundreds of deserted islands, many providing temporary shelter for campers in the outward bound program who learn to survive alone for several days with minimal gear. A sloop patrols the area as a safety net. After picking up campers a cruise to Monhegan is part of the fun, especially in the long evening twilight on a calm sea. It’s another 2 hours back to the mainland and a decent bed and food. . . . BOY LOOKING FOR STONES TO THROW - The fourth in a series of images of Fish beach on Monhegan island. This one is either directly before or after 'Boy Skipping Stones' posted a few weeks back. I labeled this as a philosophical work because of the before - after question. I have genuinely forgotten the order in which they were taken - before picking up the stone, or after having thrown the stone? As scarce as truth is the supply is always in excess of the demand. Fish Beach is a wonderful place to watch the creatures of world go by and discover the gifts of the sea and the fruits of the earth and breathe in the industrial strength perfume of 100% unfiltered air. . . . MANANA - Manana is the second and smaller island that helps form Monhegan harbor. A hermit once lived here, a coast guard station was abandoned in the late 1960's. Some carved runes in the rocks hint at a viking visitation a thousand years ago. The island looks like the deep rough at St Andrews in Scotland, which is kept at knee high length by roving herds of sheep, but there are no herbivores on Manana. Except for seabirds it is completely barren, a lonely moor staring back at the Monhegan village across a small harbor of swaying boats and churning tides. . . BOY SKIPPING STONES - Fish beach on Monhegan island eventually collects everything - people, boats, sunsets, birds, fish skeletons and in this case smooth circular stones hurled back into a placid bay with a special wrist action that makes them turn, twist, jump and skip across the water. . . . VILLAGE AT DAWN - Straight across the meadow to the west it is hard to miss this palisade of light going up in the pre-dawn darkness that looks for all the world like the towers of Ilium bursting into flame. A few lights are on in the village, and the seabirds are sluggish, but already a small boat has arrived at the dock in extreme left of the image, and the first act of the day is beginning. . . . WINDOW LIGHT - Yu Wei and Shou Pang (little fat) at a window in the upstairs bedroom of our house in Maine. I've used this setting many times because of the miraculous quality of light - almost superstitiously believing the window is a portal to another world. The animation on Wei's face tells me she sees something out there; perhaps the source of this wonderful illumination. Shou Pang is more philosophic. . . . CHRIS ROLLINS ON FISH BEACH - Chris Rollins lives on Monhegan Island year round. He builds fences, fixes roofs, paints houses, mows lawns, creates stonework, repairs electricity, fells trees. He lives in a small house immediately frame left of this shot. He was born on the island and will probably die here although that is a long time off. In his spare time he paints in oils and sketches in charcoal. His palette is a gristly gnarl of congealed pigment from more than a decade. He has acquired many of the skills of survival and self-reliance; and the pulchritude to make it through the savage winters when the winds blow ice slivers through the sky and the sea is frozen to the touch. He is an island man, born to live on the fringes where sea and land meet. As such he is a special person, and a friend, and he stopped his work for a moment to let me take this picture. . . . KENT COTTAGE - The American painter Rockwell Kent hand-built this house on the south face of Monhegan island in the early 20th century. Some of his famous early works were created here. Decades later Jamie Wyeth bought the house and painted his illuminating series of island canvasses in its studio. The house is well cared for and contains unfathomable memories, but both artists are gone. The light remains. Safe to say it is what brought them to this spot. It is serene and soaring, aggressive and pervading, it changes in an eye blink, it hangs in the evening sky like a dream of creation, it arrives in the morning like a fresh new love. I used some intuitive filters but only touched the saturation to lower, not raise, the color value. . . . VILLAGE FROM MANANA - On September 4, 1839, Monhegan was incorporated as an island plantation. In 1850 a 48 foot tall granite lighthouse was built on the island, with a fog bell station built in 1855 on nearby Manana Island. The beginnings of the art colony on Monhegan date to the mid-19th century. Among many prominent artists who have found inspiration on the island are Robert Henri, Edward Hopper, George Bellows and Rockwell Kent. After World War II many New York artists settled on the island for the summer months. This view encompasses the village and harbor and on the far hill the lighthouse and outbuildings of the Monhegan Museum. . APPROACHING STORM - Residents of Monhegan, 10 miles off the coast of Maine, are used to storms transitioning from land to sea that roll over a tiny island like an express train before plunging into the North Atlantic. The little girl playing beneath a rogue cloud formation doesn’t even notice. . . . AUTUMN SEA - This house overlooking Lobster Cove on Monhegan Island was built by the artist Rockwell Kent in the early 1900’s. It sits by itself on an exposed crag and is righteously battered by nor-easters that roll up the coast. Since Kent did the construction the house is built like one of his paintings and has lasted without a scratch.