Maine Folk Artist Raymond Welch and Terry Golson’s “Animals in Sweaters”

May – June

York Public Library will show works by Maine folk artist Raymond Welch May 6 through June 28. The Community Collects exhibit features pieces generously loaned to the Library from the private collections of individuals across the Seacoast region. 

Born in Ohio, Welch moved with his family to Sanford and worked as a loom fixer and designer of carpet fabrics in  the Goodall-Sanford Textile Mills. He loved music and played bass in a band performing throughout  Northern New England. 

At age 43, he began experimenting with watercolor painting. In 1958, inspired by the primitive art of  Anna Mary Roberson, better-known as Grandma Moses, Welch started to paint in oils. He said, “I  never copied anything. I just painted what’s in my head or in my memory.” He signed his paintings “Ray-Welch” and had exhibits of his self-proclaimed “Primitive Art” in New York and Boston. He died in 1996 at age 81. 

Please join us for an opening reception for the Raymond Welch exhibit on Tuesday, May 14 from 5-7 PM in the Library’s Upper Level. Refreshments provided. 

ALSO ON DISPLAY: “Animals in Sweaters” – sculptures by Terry Golson

Terry Golson is the author of several cookbooks and a children’s picture book, spent a decade teaching about backyard hens, and was a professionalequestrian and an animal behavior consultant. Her home in York, Maine, faces a beaver marsh where wildlife abounds. Terry’s art is inspired by a life observing and working with animals of all kinds. Terry hand builds her sculptures out of clay and each is unique.  The animals chosen to be shown at the library are from her series of Animals in Sweaters. Although it looks like they each come from their own storybook, all emerged from Terry’s imagination. She works out of a Chase’s Garage, a community studio near Short Sands Beach. To see more of her work go to www.terrygolson.com and follow her on Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/terrygolson. 

Terry’s works will be on display in the glass cases on the Library’s Upper Level. 

York Public Library Exhibits

The exhibits at the York Public Library include a broad range of art and represent artists from York, Eliot, the Berwicks, Ogunquit and the Portsmouth area.  The common denominator is the quality of the work.   Exhibits run the gamut and have included sculpture, fiber art, and traditional, abstract, and contemporary art.  Our goal is to reach not only those who have a strong interest in art but also patrons who may or may not visit museums and galleries on a regular basis.

One of the highlights on the calendar is the “Student Art Show” held each year in April.  The show features art created by young people in York from kindergarten through high school and is designed to foster excellence in art for generations to come.  

Every year the Library mounts a group show called “Community Collects”.  This show features one, two, or a group of, well-known local artists from the past.  Collectors from the area lend pieces from their personal collections during this three-month long exhibit.

Did you miss an exhibit? Click here to visit the art exhibit archive.

History of York Public Library Art Exhibits

When you stroll into the York Public Library (YPL) to find a book, read a magazine, work at a computer, or attend a meeting or program, you will undoubtedly discover more than you expected. In fact, you will have an opportunity to see major exhibitions by some of the area’s most talented artists, past and present. The art is displayed throughout the Library.

How did this all come about? A great deal of credit goes to a group of big thinkers who envisioned the Library as a center for community activity.  They were instrumental in making sure the architectural design of the building provided adequate wall space to display rotating art shows.  To make both the Library and the art exhibits accessible, it was important that the building be located in the heart of the Village, and thanks to residents Tom and Nancy Viele, the land was made available.

The York Public Library (YPL) Art Committee

The YPL Art Committee, composed of a small group of volunteers, selects and organizes six exhibits throughout the year. Committee members are knowledgeable in the field and familiar with the reputations of artists in our area.  An Opening Reception is hosted by the Committee for each exhibit during which the artists are invited to give an informal talk about their creative process. Exhibits are by invitation. For more information contact info@yorkpubliclibrary.org