Publications

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Thomas Crotty (1934-2015)

A native of Boston and graduate of the Massachusetts College of Art, Thomas Crotty found his creative muse after moving to Maine in 1964. Two years later, he opened Frost Gully Gallery in Freeport through which he fostered the careers of his fellow Maine painters up until his passing in 2015.

Crotty’s faithful depictions of Maine’s rugged coastline and dense woodlands demonstrated his love of nature and appreciation for the state’s unique landscape captured in all seasons. He found much to inspire him among the graceful pines and windswept fields, and the expansive views where sea and sky meet, and was especially interested in the delicate play of light found in early morning and evening. Working in the Maine wilderness also offered Crotty the privacy he sought for most of his life, and as such the Portland Museum of Art’s 2003-2004 retrospective on his career was aptly called A Solitude of Space. The museum’s director at the time, Daniel E. O’Leary, invited the artist to see the exhibition before it opened to the general public and was pleased to witness Crotty’s appreciation for the display, recalling: “I don’t think he had ever seen more than a few of his paintings together at one time. He was so gracious, he refused to suggest even the slightest change.” Indeed, amassing such a display was an impressive endeavor as much of Crotty’s work remains in private hands, and examples can also be found in collections of the Portland Museum and in the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland, Maine.

Crotty was also a competitive sailor, winning many races over the years aboard the Cailin a Mara, the sloop he designed in 1978, and served as the founding president of the Gulf of Maine Ocean Racing Association.

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