Langlais art exhibit at Center Theatre

    DOVER-FOXCROFT — There will be a reception in the Center Theatre lobby on Friday, Jan. 31 at 7 p.m. for the public to view several historic pieces of artwork of the late artist Bernard “Blackie” Langlais The reception will include food and drink, as well as a brief talk about the artist and the works on display, by local artist Alan Bray.

    In March 2013, the Colby College Museum of Art announced that it would be distributing the artwork of Langlais as a gift to nonprofit organizations with an interest in making them a historic part of their organizations.
    The Center Theatre requested and obtained several of these historic pieces, and has them on permanent display in the lobby of the theatre. Many of these pieces have never been exhibited publicly.
    Langlais, who was born in Old Town, studied at the Corcoran School of Art, the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and the Brooklyn Museum School and received a Fulbright Scholarship to Oslo, Norway.
    He made a name for himself while living in New York in the 1950s, and was among a wave of artists who came to Maine in the 1960s in search of open space and inspiration. He is best known for his monumental wall reliefs and sculptures, including the 62-foot Abenaki Indian in Skowhegan.
    After his death in 1977, his wife, Helen, maintained the Bernard Langlais estate, which included over 90 acres of land, approximately 30 major sculptures, and countless three dimensional pieces, sketches, and paintings. A number of oversized whimsical wooden sculptures dot the landscape at the sprawling estate.
    After Helen’s death in 2010, a portion of the collection was willed to Colby College, who then donated the collection and the estate to the Kohler Foundation.
    “We are incredibly fortunate that Colby College and the Kohler Foundation saw the Center Theatre as worthy stewards of the Bernard Langlais legacy,” said Center Theater Executive Director Angela Bonacasa, “and we are honored to provide a venue where anyone can come and view the works of such a prominent Maine artist.  While we are primarily known for the movies, theatre, and the performing arts, we are supporters the visual arts as well, and look forward to making his work available to everyone.”