Vincent Hartgen, Founded University Of Maine Art Department, 88

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Vincent Hartgen, the painter who established the University of Maine art
department and was responsible for acquiring some 5,000 works for the
school's collection, died Wednesday, November 27, 2002, at the age of
88.

Mr. Hartgen's association with the university began when school
president Arthur Hauck hired him to build an art department and museum
at the Orono campus.

Mr. Hartgen arrived in 1946, beginning a university career that spanned
more than 30 years.

A prolific painter who produced 3,500 works, Mr. Hartgen was known for
abstract watercolor interpretations of Maine landscapes and seascapes.

The New York-based art critic Herbert J. Seligmann, responding to a show
in the 1960s, wrote that Mr. Hartgen had ''become the voice of all
seasons in Maine, a great virtuoso of watercolor - he is in the direct
line of the great American poets who have celebrated the native
abundance of America.''

A passionate believer in art education, Mr. Hartgen was known for his
unconventional classroom style. He once taught a class while lying on a
table to emphasize the difficulty Michelangelo faced while painting the
Sistine Chapel.

For years, he hosted summer art shows for students in the Japanese-style
gardens in the back yard of his home in Orono. Although some artists
would refuse to teach introductory courses, Mr. Hartgen did not shy away
from taking on entry-level art students.

Almost single-handedly, he was responsible for acquisitions by the
university's Museum of Art.

"More than 90 percent of what I see here was brought into the collection
during Vincent's watch," Wally Mason, the museum's current director,
said Friday from the new gallery wing that opens Dec. 6 in downtown
Bangor.

"That speaks volumes in and of itself."

As head of the department, Mr. Hartgen made sure the artworks -
including pieces by Berenice Abbott, Jasper Johns, Diego Rivera,
Giovanni Piranesi, Kathe Kollwitz, Andrew Wyeth, and John Marin - were
hung in offices around campus and that they traveled to schoolchildren
statewide.

"I was trying to create a revolution here," Mr. Hartgen said in a recent
interview.

"I wanted to teach and encourage people to enjoy art, particularly
modern art."

Born in Reading, Pennsylvania, Mr. Hartgen studied architecture and fine
arts at the University of Pennsylvania, where he went on to earn a
master's degree in fine arts.

During World War II, he served in the Army.

Boston Globe

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