Berry, Carroll Thayer. Bucks Harbor - Maine Coast. $350.00

Bucks Harbor - Maine Coast

Carroll Thayer Berry (1886-1978) is best known for his works depicting the Maine coast; his familiarity and love of the subject stem from his upbringing in New Gloucester and his homes in Wiscasset and Rockport. His prints such as this one often depict rocky coastlines with ships plying the waters and towns nestled down on the banks. Thayer’s preferred method of printing with woodblocks enabled him to create wonderfully strong images of great depth, perspective, texture and detail.  

Thayer’s schooling, career and military experience informed his mastery of perspective and draftsmanship. He enrolled at the University of Michigan with the intention of becoming a marine engineer but he became a mechanical draftsman for an engineering firm and then worked at an architectural firm in Portland Oregon. The firm sent him to work on the construction of the Panama Canal but he when he contracted malaria he was sent back to the states. It was at this point in his life that his career began to turn to art taking classes at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. After he had recuperated, he returned to Panama and his artistic talents became so apparent that he was commissioned by the government to paint a series of murals depicting the construction of the canal. He returned to the US in 1914 and became a commercial artist in New York. When World War I broke out, he joined the army as a member of the American Camouflage Corps and worked with artists and architects in that service. During the Depression, Berry and his wife to Wiscasset Maine where their home became a meeting place for artists and craftsmen. He was commissioned by the Bath Iron Works to create a series of paintings depicting the construction of US Navy fighting ships. At the conclusion of WWII they built a home and studio in Portland Maine where he stayed for the rest of his life.

12 x 15 ¾ inches, sheet. 10 x 12 inches, image.
Pencil signed and titled.
Wood engraving.