“Lamar Dodd: Half a Century of Monhegan Summers” is on display at the island’s Museum of Art and History.

Dodd (1909-1996) first traveled to Monhegan Island in 1947 and was quickly drawn to its natural beauty, returning to the island every summer. His painting style evolved through the years. He was described in a press release as “an artist who explored and expanded with gusto his creative process in a multitude of subjects, mediums and styles. This exhibition includes works in watercolor, oil, encaustic and ink.”

The show, up through September, spans work from his first trip to Monhegan to his last, in 1992. Included are pieces from collections at the Lamar Dodd Art Center at LaGrange College in Georgia and the C.L. Morehead Collection from Athens, Georgia, along with other private collections. It’s the first solo retrospective of Dodd’s Monhegan work to be shown in New England.

A gifted teacher, Dodd served as chairman of the art department at the University of Georgia (now The Lamar Dodd School of Art) from 1939 until his retirement in 1972. He was president of the College Art Association of America from 1954 to 1956, and in 1962 was named director of the National Council of Arts in Education.

Dodd’s work is part of many permanent collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the National Gallery of Art, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the High Museum.

For information, call 596-7003 or go to monheganmuseum.org.