By Karen Donato, Special to the Houlton Pioneer Times
LITTLETON, Maine — A new display has been in the works to feature the art of the late Esther Orr Faulkner at the Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum in Littleton. Guests will be able to view several pieces of the Faulkner Collection at the museum turkey supper on May 18 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. The museum will be open earlier, at 3 p.m., for those wanting an earlier glimpse of Esther’s art.
Esther was a beloved artist, well-known in the greater Houlton area. Many residents and businesses commissioned Esther to do renderings of family homes, local buildings or scenes that were of significance to them. She did several paintings of iconic Houlton structures. Many of those can be viewed at Cary Library, local businesses and schools.
Esther grew up in Harpswell. As a teenager she had her own gift shop, selling small paintings and giving art lessons. She had learned the art of painting from her father who was an accomplished watercolor artist and illustrator. Esther met her future husband Jack while attending Colby College. She and Jack settled in Houlton, Jack’s hometown. He joined the staff of the Houlton Pioneer Times where he later became manager and editor of the paper. He retired as manager of Northeast Publishing Company.
Together they raised three sons; Rob, John and James. In later years, Esther taught painting at Houlton’s Adult Education program and to residents of Madigan Estates, where she became the activities director. She participated in the SAGE program, instructing seniors in art.
Her son Rob remained here in Houlton, retiring a few years ago from KeyBank. Upon leaving the bank he was gifted two of her original works that had been part of the décor in offices there. He and his brothers decided to donate the pieces to the Agricultural Museum for visitors to enjoy. One is a group of potato houses located in Carys Mills on the Porter Settlement Road and the other is the well-known Littleton Covered Bridge which burned in 2021. These are now displayed in the gymnasium of the museum. Since the initial donation a year ago, more prints have been acquired, which are on display in “Our Old House”.
We invite you to join us for a delicious supper and view this special collection. Tickets are also available for the museum spring raffle. The grand prize is a Cub Cadet riding lawn mower or $1,000 cash. The drawing will be held the night of the supper. SAAM caps and tote bags are also available for a donation at the museum. Visit our museum site:www.southernaroostookagriculturalmuseum.org or on Facebook.
