By Susan Danly
Senior Curator
It was perfect Saturday in Maine—cloudless blue sky, quiet breeze off the ocean, lilacs in bloom—and I was off to Prouts Neck toting a picnic basket and baseball cap to help photographer Keliy Anderson-Staley lug her heavy camera and portable darkroom down to the rocks in front of the Winslow Homer Studio. I watched as she set out the bottles of syrupy collodion and magical chemicals—ferrous sulfate, silver nitrate, and potassium cyanide—jugs of water, metal plates, developing trays, and the big box camera on a tripod that she would use to conjure up images of the rock-bound coast, breaking waves, and the piazza (Homer’s porch). It was a slow process that drew its success from a serendipitous confluence of sunshine, moderate temperatures, and gentle winds. But as soon as Keliy placed the cloudy photographic plates in the water bath, scenes of rocky ledges washed by waves miraculously began to appear.
Come see the results when her work is on view at the Museum this fall in the exhibition of Between Past and Present: The Winslow Homer Photographic Project.
Photographer Keliy Anderson-Staley on the rocks in front of the Winslow Homer Studio.
Keliy's outdoor darkroom.
Plate being fixed in a tray.
Coating the plate with collodion.
Comments
I was fortunate to visit the Homer studio when PMA first acquired it. Now I am extremely curious to see the project once your renovations are done.
I was looking over the Museum’s website hoping to find additional information on what you have planned but didn’t see much on it (and yes, I might have missed something). If you haven’t posted on the details of your plans for the Homer studio I am sure lots of your readers would be interested. As you say, this is one of THE primary sites of American Art History!
Philip, the Museum is excited to open the Studio the public in September of this year! Information on the Studio and the exhibition “Weatherbeaten: Winslow Homer and Maine” can be at http://www.portlandmuseum.org/about/homerstudio/visit.php/.
If you have any questions, please contact me at cbrooke@portlandmuseum.org.
Best,
Caitlin
PR & Marketing Assistant
Sounds like a perfect day and a wonderful experience, Susan! Thank you for sharing!