Image: Bates College Museum of Art, New York
'Carl Sprinchorn: Points of View' runs from October 1 through December 19, 2026. The exhibition consists of more than 70 drawings, pastels, watercolors and paintings from the collection of the Bates College Museum of Art.
It chronicles the life and work of Carl Sprinchorn, presenting him as an under-recognized modern artist while offering an expansive view of his evolving practice from the 1900s through the 1960s. The exhibition focuses on Sprinchorn’s ability to capture the action and emotion of a moment.
Sprinchorn emigrated from Sweden as a teenager to study with Robert Henri, first drawing from observation in New York City before spending years traveling through Europe, Santo Domingo, Mexico and the American West.
His first prolific period of artmaking in Maine took place in Monson during the 1910s and 1920s, when he produced mysterious figures and moody landscapes. After returning to Maine at the end of the 1930s, he portrayed rural life around Shin Pond through sweeping seasonal landscapes, striking portraits of male figures, and lively sketches of hunting and logging.
The exhibition frames Sprinchorn’s story through wide-reaching social issues in twentieth-century United States life, including homosexuality, labor, immigration and the natural environment, which the presentation describes as continuing to resonate today. It will be accompanied by the catalogue 'Carl Sprinchorn: A Rediscovery,' published by the University of Maine Press in collaboration with the Ogunquit Museum of American Art and its exhibition 'Carl Sprinchorn: All the World is a Painting,' on view from August 6 through November 15; together, the catalogue and concurrent exhibitions place Sprinchorn on the national stage alongside his peers.
