The Illustration Institute on Peaks Island has received a $200,000 matching grant that will be used toward the purchase the Faison Artist Residency at Tolman Heights on the island. The funds were provided through the Maine Community Foundation, said Illustration Institute founder Scott Nash.
The property includes a stone cottage, a four-bedroom house, a barn and soon-to-be-built 900-square-foot studio near Spar Cove.
The residency was established as a bohemian enclave in 1919, Nash said. Originally built by Frederick Whitney of Boston, the property was named Rockbound Park and included nine structures including six houses, a barn, a garage and the remnants of a 75-foot observation tower. The current owner, John Faison, who owns five of the original structures, has agreed to sell the property and build a studio for the Illustration Institute, Nash said.
Faison has agreed to sell the property to the Illustration Institute for $1 if it can raise $500,000 for a sustainability fund that will guarantee that the residency will be available to artists in perpetuity, Nash said in a press release. “This matching gift puts us on track for reaching our fundraising goal by our deadline in October, he said.
Illustration Institute is a nonprofit arts organization whose mission is to increase appreciation and awareness of illustration as an art form by providing lectures, workshops, exhibitions and the Faison artist residency.
This summer, illustrators Anita Kunz, Barbara McClintock, Gregory Christie, Leela Corman and Tom Hart will be residence on the island. The institute also is organizing an exhibition of the art of Garth Williams, the illustrator of many classic books including “Charlotte’s Web,” “Stuart Little,” “A Cricket In Times Square” and “Little House On The Prairie.”
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