Rackstraw Downes, Visiting Artist Lecture 1975

In his first lecture at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (additional lectures in 1981 and 2002), painter Rackstraw Downes shows slides of his work from 1962, while he was still in art school, to the present time. The speaker talks at length about the work he shows, his progress as an artist and his method of working and subject matter. He also comments on his life in Maine, New York City, Yaddo and short stays in Belgium, Holland and Italy, interspersed with personal anecdotes and historical comments. He shows many landscapes, as well as some nudes and portraits. Following the slides Downes reads a long article which he wrote about the aspects of landscape painting, as well as some journal entries from his trip to Italy. In the Question and Answer period he talks about why he has chosen to live in the United States, his affection and admiration for Fairfield Porter, and a variety of other topics.