Porter, an artist and inventor who lived from 1792-1884 and spent his boyhood years in the Bridgton area, helped to create an American culture. In his early years Porter painted small watercolor portraits from Maine to Virginia, then later moved on to landscape painting on walls of private homes throughout New England. His use of local landscapes with a vivid palette and broad, open brushstrokes was a departure from the styles and content of classical European wallpaper. Because most of his murals were unsigned, it was not until the mid 1930s that his body of work was authenticated.

The Rufus Porter Museum and Cultural Heritage Center celebrates the contributions of Rufus Porter to American arts and industry. The Center preserves a home on 67 North High St. in Bridgton, Maine, containing Porter murals painted in 1828.

Bourgeault’s talk, titled “Collecting Folk Art on a Shoestring or with a Pot of Gold,” will be held on July 10 at 7-8:30 p.m. and is open to the public.

The series is highlighted by a three-day class in Rufus Porter Style Mural Painting by Linda Carter Lefko and a full day class by Jacqueline Hansen on the Waldoboro Technique of Rug Hooking. Other classes include Theorem Painting, Faux Finishes, Country (Vinegar) Graining, Historic Quilt Repair, Folk Painting, Herbal Wreath Making, Herbal Remedies, Broom Making, Ukrainian Egg Decoration, Fly Tying, Historic Quilt Repair, Rag Baskets, Gourd Art, Felting, and Historic Embroidery Stitching. Additional classes include Gravestone Preservation, Beginning Genealogy, Genealogy and the Internet, an Herbal Walk into the Past, and Historic Barns of Western Maine. Nancy Smoak, Projects Director for the Rufus Porter Museum, has put together this fantastic program and has even included a new series of workshops highlighting home repair. These include Preservation and Rehabilitation Techniques, Antique Finishes, Old Window Repair and Repair of Historic Plaster.

Contact: (207) 647-2828,

www.rufusportermuseum.org