After years of anticipation in the art world, the Portland Museum of Art unveiled a singular collection of Winslow Homer’s work at a members-only black-tie gala last weekend.

“Weatherbeaten: Winslow Homer and Maine” showcases 38 major oils, watercolors and etchings the artist created at his Prouts Neck studio from 1883 to 1910. Bringing these works together involved borrowing art from museums all over the country, as well as from private collectors, such as Vaughan Pratt of Prouts Neck, who loaned the museum an etching.

Additional Photos

Laura Anderson of Cape Elizabeth and Alex Fisher of Portland enjoy the museum garden until their chance to see the Homer exhibition. Photos by Amy Paradysz

Tori Willauer, who spent family holidays in the Homer studio, and her husband, Tony Fitch, of Owls Head.

Sunne Savage, left, an art dealer; Natasha Goldman, a research associate at Bowdoin College; and Joachim Homann, curator at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art.

Charles Homer Willauer of Duxbury, Mass.; his great-uncle Charles Homer Willauer of Scarborough; and Gale Willauer, of Duxbury, Mass. The elder Charles H. Willauer sold the Winslow Homer studio to the museum.

“The exhibition should have national and international status,” said Charlton Ames of Rockport, naming museums that loaned artworks, from The Art Institute of Chicago to the Smithsonian.

“It’s an amazing array of Homers, and all the images you’ll see are all related to Prouts Neck. His work at his Prouts Neck studio was a breakthrough because he had the space to enable him to do larger pieces.”

The museum’s painting “Weatherbeaten” is both the namesake of the exhibition and a quintessential example of the artist’s late work — rolling waves crashing against the rocky shore, capturing both specificity of place and ruggedness of nature.

Gala guests included Charles Homer Willauer of Scarborough, who is proud to be Homer’s great-grand-nephew. It was Willauer who sold the artist’s studio to the museum in 2006.

The “Weatherbeaten” exhibition coincides with the reopening of the renovated studio for public tours — already sold out through October.

“I’m glad that the wait is finally over,” said Willauer. “The restoration work is a very, very beautiful example of what can be done in this day and age.”

“We used to have Thanksgivings there,” said Tori Willauer of Owls Head, describing the transformation from family-owned cottage to historically restored museum property. “There’s a lot of family history there.”

But her connection is also the more universal one of art appreciation. “It’s amazing to me to see how abstract his strokes were for the time period in which he painted,” she said. “It’s stunning.”

Guests were given timed tickets to the exhibition hall, creating anticipation as art lovers mingled and sampled hors d’oeuvres and spirits in the foyer, cafe and garden.

“This exhibition is so special that it ought to be here longer than it will be, and it ought to draw people from all over the country,” said Eliot Cutler, independent candidate for governor in 2010.

“It will draw people from all over the country,” added his wife, Melanie Cutler, a museum trustee.

“It almost makes you cry, it’s so amazing,” said Brett Johnson of Portland. “It’s an assemblage of works by probably one of America’s best painters, and to have it here under one roof is amazing.”

“I loved the etchings. I loved the variety,” said Marty Wood of South Portland. “I used to go out to Prouts Neck and see the old studio and walk the cliff. It’s a very, very special part of the world, I think.”

“Being from Scarborough helped to connect with each of the works,” said Bryan Shumway. “And to be exposed to some of Homer’s thoughts in the notes on the wall helped to get into his mind as an artist.”

“Homer is a very significant artist, and we have the privilege of having his studio in our back yard,” said Bob Nanovic, treasurer of the museum’s board of trustees. “We had the vision to restore a treasure. It’s a rare opportunity to acquire the studio of an American artist.”

“I’ve been seeing the planning stages for so long, it just feels so exciting for the museum,” said Aimee Bessire, whose husband, Mark, is the director of the museum. Her mother, Westy Conlin, added, “It’s wonderful to see people enjoying it so much.”

Art lovers will enjoy the exhibition through Dec. 30. Meanwhile, tours of the Prouts Neck studio, 12 miles from the museum, will run through Dec. 2 and then resume in April. For more information, visit www.portlandmuseum.org.

Amy Paradysz is a freelance writer from Scarborough. She can be reached at:

amyedits@aol.com

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