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July 2013 Announcement by Greg Mort Collection Curator

Greg Mort ‘s Portrait of Carl Sagan at the Smithsonian 

High Art: A Decade of Collecting

This exhibition will consist of 50 works of art acquired by the Museum from 2003 – 2013. A range of styles and media will be represented in the show, which will be divided into sections, such as “Visions of Flight” (conceptual works), “Faces of Flight” (portraits) and “Looking Back” (works related to historical events.)  Greg Mort’s 2004 Portrait of Carl Sagan is featured in the exhibition, which runs from July 26th to December 31st 2013.


Greg Mort’s “One World” at the White House

Greg Mort is honored to have his 2008 oil painting “One World” moves from the United Nations American Embassy in New York City to the White House. Fifty years ago President John F. Kennedy formalized an Art in Embassies program, which ever since then has found ways to facilitate exhibitions of American art around the world – mainly by displaying artworks in the U.S. Department’s diplomatic facilities throughout the world (including Embassies and Ambassadors’ residences as well as the White House). The program was first envisioned by the Museum of Modern Art in 1953 and ever since then it has played a leading role in U.S. public diplomacy.


Greg Mort at the American Museum of Natural History

INSAP conferences are the leading international forum for bringing together astronomers, artists, historians and philosophers who are inspired by the sky.  The American Museum of Natural History INSAP VIII Conference in July 2013 investigated a wide variety of cosmic themes that explored the effect of the glorious spectacles we see in the heavens on humanity and human culture.  Using images of his original watercolors and oils Greg Mort presented "The Enduring Cultural and Scientific Influence of the Red Planet Mars."


Greg Mort 2013 Open Studio Narrative:

Open Studio Celebrates Smithsonian and White House Exhibit of Port Clyde Artist Greg Mort

American artist Greg Mort will host his annual Open Studio: “Fieldstone Castle Centennial Celebration” August 3 & 4, 10 am to 5 pm at 129 Marshall Pt. Lighthouse Rd. Port Clyde, ME 04855, 207-372-8658, www.gregmort.com & Greg Mort Artist on Facebook. Widely recognized as a leading influence in contemporary realism his work is found in prominent private, gallery and museum collections around the world including the Smithsonian, Corcoran, Farnsworth, Academy Art, Portland and Stamford museums.  Mort will display recent watercolors and oils as well as images of his iconic portrait of Carl Sagan now featured in the Smithsonian’s new “HIGH ART ~ A Decade of Collecting” exhibition and his large scale painting of planet Earth titled “One World” now on display at the White House.  Both paintings have a Maine connection.

The Carl Sagan portrait was commissioned by his widow, Ann Druyan following a chance meeting at the White House where both Mort and Druyan were invited to the to hear Stephen Hawking speak.  Druyan recalled that Carl had used two of Mort’s paintings in his last book Pale Blue Dot.  She traveled to Maine the following summer to visit his Port Clyde studio, view a wide variety of Mort’s artwork and proposed the portrait project.  Druyan returned to Port Clyde the next summer along with nine members of the Sagan family for the unveiling and approval of the portrait, which was then acquired by the Smithsonian in 2004.  “HIGH ART” opens at the Smithsonian July 26th and runs until December 31st.

Mort’s “One World” painting was completed and featured in his 2008 Port Clyde summer open studio as he launched his Art of Stewardship Project. The Art of Stewardship Project encourages partnerships between artists and environmental institutions to build awareness of the Earth’s fragile ecosystems through the arts. Mort’s global partner is Circle of Blue www.circleofblue.org and his local partner is The George’s River Land Trust www.GRLT.org. Following its debut in Maine, “One World” was selected by the Art in Embassy program for exhibition at the United States United Nations Mission in New York City.  This month, “One World” was chosen for display at the White House.

In addition to the above honors Mort’s year was highlighted with a number of one-person museum exhibitions including at the beautiful Stamford Museum, which hosted “NIGHTWATCH The Art of Greg Mort” a traveling collection of the artist’s celestial and astronomically inspired paintings. In February the Academy Art Museum opened the first in a series of three one-person exhibitions titled: “The Art of Greg Mort: Selections from the Hickman Bequest.”  This exhibition draws from the Hickman gift as well as some preliminary drawings that were donated by Greg Mort to enhance the collection. In 2011, David H. Hickman, an Easton-born, Washington DC resident, generously donated 38 Mort paintings along with a $500,000 conservation gift making it the largest public repository of the artist's work.  The Farnsworth Museum’s current director Christopher Brownawell was formally the director of the AAM and facilitated this donation during his tenure.

Mort’s spring exhibition at the Carla Massoni Gallery titled “Midstream” reflected the artist’s ongoing process ever evolving creativity.  In April Mort brought together the works of over thirty artists highlighting environmental issues for his annual Art of Stewardship Exhibition celebrating Earth Day.  Earthzine Magazine recognized Mort for his efforts to encourage fellow artists to use their talents to build environmental awareness in a recent article: “Into the Mind of Visionary Artist Greg Mort."  

A commissioned NASA artist since 1983 and a long-standing board member of the Lowell Observatory Mort is a frequent speaker on the arts and sciences.  In March he gave a Master Class at the University of Maryland on “The Science of Creativity”. He just returned from a speaking engagement at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City presenting: “The Enduring Influence on Culture and Science of the Planet MARS”.

Greg Mort’s 2013 Open Studio Fieldstone Castle Centennial Celebration makes the 100th anniversary of his Port Clyde home/studio.  Built in 1913 by Russell W. Porter, Mort restored Fieldstone Castle in 1988. Visitors will view twenty new Mort paintings as well as a collection of memorabilia about Porter and his achievements as an artist, astronomer, and arctic explorer.