Autumn, with its waning light, is a perfect time to display fine art that portrays evening or night. For its last exhibition of the 2024 season, the Maine Art Gallery chose autumn to present the work of more than 55 current Maine artists and several of their predecessors who set about to capture the magical realm of nocturne.

“Nocturne” opens Thursday, Sept. 12, and runs through Oct. 20. A reception with live music by Jud Caswell is from 5-7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14.

“Night Full of Murmerings” by Kathryn Shagas. Courtesy of Maine Art Gallery

Nocturne is a theme that American artists, influenced by James McNeil Whistler’s nocturne series, began exploring in the late 1800s. Depicting the world at night is not only about what you see, it is also about what is obscure, represented in a tonal spectrum ranging from stark to subdued to suppressed.

This exhibition also explores the work of Maine photographer-poet, Kosti Ruahomaa, whose often surreal and occasionally abstract, nighttime images illustrate what Andrew Wyeth once characterized as “being present at some intimate moment caught at the instant of revelation.” The Penobscot Marine Museum allowed the gallery access to its photographic archives.

The gallery is located at 15 Warren St., Wiscasset, with free on-street parking. A nonprofit organization, the Maine Art Gallery is dedicated to the advancement and preservation of the visual, fine and applied arts through exhibitions, lectures, demonstrations and educational programs for children and adults since 1958. More information can be found at maineartgallerywiscasset.org and on Facebook at Maine Art Gallery Wiscasset.