Roger Majorowicz’s metal sculptures can be seen in museums and galleries around the world, but the biggest collection of them probably resides at the Whitefield house he called home for the last 30-plus years of his life.
Almost all of those pieces, along with dozens of other items Majorowicz collected during his 83 years, will go to the top bidders at Saturday’s estate auction.
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“In the state of Maine, we don’t see these true estates come to market any more,” said Rusty Farrin, of Farrin’s Country Auctions. “This is a true country estate.”
The auction is set for 10 a.m. at Majorowicz’s home at 32 Wiscasset Road. The public is invited to attend.
The sale includes Majorowicz’s metal sculptures, which Farrin described as abstract, as well as the materials he used to create them. The auction also will include antiques from the home, a collection of more than 100 broad axes and even Majorowicz’s tractor, Farrin said.
“It’s a real step back in time to see what we’re selling,” Farrin said.
Majorowicz’s widow, Mary Majorowicz, is finalizing plans for the auction, but Farrin said the process actually began last summer before Roger Majorowicz died. Farrin said he met with the artist on a couple of occasions to talk about the sale. The encounters left an impression.
“He was a very nice gentleman, very humble,” Farrin said. “He was very well-liked and respected.”
Majorowicz, according to his obituary, was born in 1931 in western South Dakota. Family members recognized his artistic bent and encouraged him in that direction. He returned from the Korean War and graduated from the Minneapolis School of Art, which ultimately led him to Maine on a scholarship to the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Skowhegan. Majorowicz, who up to that point had worked in cartooning, including a stint with Charles Schultz and the Peanuts cartoon, focused on sculpture. He later received a Fulbright Fellowship to study sculpture at the Institute D’Arte in Florence.
Majorowicz’s work is on display in museums and galleries in places such as Rome and Munich as well as New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, but he also produced a number of pieces for schools and public buildings in his hometown and across the state.
Majorowicz taught at the Maryland Institute, College of Art in Baltimore for more than 20 years before he moved to Maine in 1981.
“He drew inspiration from many sources, including mystical themes, his Western heritage, the human figure and the landscape,” his obituary reads. “He was happiest when he was making art in his own studio with doors wide open on a beautiful summer day.”
Mary Majorowicz couldn’t be reached for comment, but in an interview posted online by the Boothbay Register, Majorowicz described her husband as an active community member who volunteered for various organizations, including the Fire Department, who was delighted to pass along his love of and talent for art. Roger Majorowicz taught children how to weld, create and think about making art. He taught them how to “pursue their dreams,” Mary Majorowicz said.
His family, in the obituary, encouraged people to remember Majorowicz when they make or buy a piece of art or visit a museum or gallery or just offer encouragement to an artist.
“At his core, Roger was an artist,” the obituary concludes. “He believed that art captured the meaning of life and made the world a better place.”
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