World War II and Monhegan: A multimedia online exhibition depicting the wartime experience of the residents of a remote island.

FAIN: PB-274117-20

Monhegan Museum (Monhegan, ME 04852)
Jennifer Pye (Project Director: May 2020 to October 2021)

Four staff members and one web design consultant, as well as necessary materials and supplies, to develop the platform for a digital exhibit, “World War II: On Island and Abroad,” that will allow visitors to virtually engage with the museum’s archives through multimedia stories curated from the collection.

The Monhegan Museum of Art & History will create an online exhibition platform that will increase access to the museum’s holdings. The pilot exhibition: "World War II: On Island and Abroad" will use artworks, oral histories, moving images, photographs, letters, and ephemera to communicate the stories of a remote island community in wartime. Professional training received while constructing this exhibition will allow museum staff to build additional displays and expand outreach.

Media Coverage

Monhegan Museum of Art & History explores wartime experience of islanders (Media Coverage)
Publication: Village Soup
Date: 3/15/2021
Abstract: The Second World War had a dramatic impact on the everyday lives of individuals across the country, and while far from the fighting, the residents of Maine’s remote offshore islands were profoundly affected by the war overseas. The multimedia online exhibition "World War II: On-Island and Abroad" incorporates oral histories, artwork, letters, memoirs, film footage, and newspaper clippings to tell the stories of the islanders who went to war, and those who remained on-island.

Monhegan Museum presents online multimedia exhibition ‘World War II: On-Island and Abroad’ (Media Coverage)
Publication: Pen-Bay Pilot
Date: 3/15/2021
Abstract: US Navy, Coast Guard troops and changes to an island
URL: https://www.penbaypilot.com/article/monhegan-museum-presents-online-multimedia-exhibition-world-war-ii-island-and-abroad/144632

Monhegan Museum explores the wartime experience of Maine islanders with new online exhibition (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Kristen Levesque
Publication: Boothbay Register
Date: 3/16/2021
Abstract: The Second World War had a dramatic impact on the everyday lives of individuals across the country, and while far from the fighting, the residents of Maine’s remote offshore islands were profoundly affected by the war overseas. The multimedia online exhibition World War II: On-Island and Abroad incorporates oral histories, artwork, letters, memoirs, film footage, and newspaper clippings to tell the stories of the islanders who went to war, and those who remained on-island.
URL: https://www.boothbayregister.com/article/monhegan-museum-explores-wartime-experience-maine-islanders-new-online-exhibition/144626

LUCKY (Media Coverage)
Publication: Eat, Drink, Lucky
Date: 3/25/2021
Abstract: The Monhegan Museum presents a new multimedia online exhibition World War II: On-Island and Abroad, using oral histories, artwork, letters, memoirs, film footage, and newspaper clippings to tell the stories of the islanders who went to war, and those who remained on-island. With a year-round population of only 97, the island sent 14 men to fight abroad. The exhibit offers a fascinating look at how Monhegan residents who remained behind united in support of the war, and how this isolated spot was well aware of the growing threat as military presence became apparent in the sky and sea around the island.
URL: https://us8.campaign-archive.com/?u=89172d634259b9a955b7f9b2a&id=24970f5a59

Associated Products

World War II: On-Island and Abroad (Web Resource)
Title: World War II: On-Island and Abroad
Author: Emily Grey
Author: Pamela Rollinger
Author: Tara Hire
Author: Jennifer Pye
Abstract: The Second World War had a dramatic impact on the everyday lives of individuals across the country, and while far from the fighting, the residents of Maine’s remote offshore islands were profoundly affected by the war overseas. The multimedia online exhibition World War II: On-Island and Abroad uses oral histories, artwork, letters memoirs, film footage, and newspaper clippings to tell the stories of the islanders who went to war, and those who remained on-island.
Year: 2020
Primary URL: http://monheganmuseum.org/WWII

Postwar Modernism on Monhegan (Web Resource)
Title: Postwar Modernism on Monhegan
Author: Emily Grey
Author: Pamela Rollinger
Author: Joan Brady
Author: Rebecca FitzPatrick
Author: Jennifer Pye
Abstract: The trajectory of art history on Monhegan was forever changed when a group of New York City artists discovered the Monhegan muse after World War II. We explore the work of twelve artists who lived in New York in the winter, and spent summers on Monhegan Island. They met at art school or through the Federal Art Project created during the Depression. On Monhegan, they made up a large part of the post World War II art community, choosing the island for its affordability, inspiration, and isolation. They shared close friendships, engaging in sketching groups, art critiques, and poker games with the year-rounders; but at the same time respected each other’s need for creative space. Together they contributed to the revitalization of the art colony on Monhegan Island in the mid-twentieth-century.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: http://https://monheganmuseum.org/postwarmodernism/
Primary URL Description: An online exhibition describing revitalization of Monhegan's art colony post-World War 2 with the arrival of a group of New York artists who were influences by abstraction.

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