“The Terra Collection-in-Residence program takes a holistic approach to what sharing looks like and serves as an innovative model for other institutions with collections. The length of the loans have been particularly meaningful and appreciated. A lot can happen in three years,” said Beth Finch, former Head Curator, Colby College Museum of Art.
In April 2023, artist Erin Johnson presented queer readings of Thomas Hart Benton’s The Spinners (1925–26) and George Caleb Bingham’s The Jolly Flatboatmen (1877–78), to a large audience as part of the museum’s Art& series. The museum also conducted a summer workshop led by Shipu Wang, Professor of Art History and Chair in the Arts at the University of California, Merced. He and Lunder Curator of American Art Sarah Humphreville led a group of museum interns through the process of label writing for Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Boy with Cow (1921), another Terra Foundation loan. Each student focused on a different aspect of the painting, leading to several labels that demonstrated the power of language to engage audiences as they experience works of art.
“Given its specific place-based relevance, Yasuo Kuniyoshi’s Boy with Cow, painted in 1921, has had an important presence in the museum and allowed us to tell stories we could not otherwise have told. It has been critical to our exploration of Maine’s global connections, which are often overlooked given assumptions made about the region’s remoteness and homogeneity,” said Sarah Humphreville, Lunder Curator of American Art, Colby College Museum of Art.
The Terra Foundation objects have sparked discussions with broader audiences beyond the museum. In the fall of 2023, the museum hosted an interactive workshop inspired by The Spinners at the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association’s Common Ground Fair. Participants engaged in conversations and art-making activities that explored both personal and historical connections to Maine’s fiber industry.
Four paintings are on loan for a period of three years (June 2022–June 2025).
