His 'beloved Maine'

Photo by Kosti Ruohomaa, view from Ruohomaa’s Farm on Dodge Mountain, Rockland, Maine.

This from the Penobscot Marine Museum, in Searsport, Maine:

On Thursday, May 20, at 6 p.m., the Penobscot Marine Museum will be hosting “Kosti Ruohomaa’s Beloved Maine’’ on Zoom, in partnership with the University of Maine at Augusta. This lecture and slideshow is led by Deanna Bonner-Ganter and discusses the work of Rockland photographer Kosti Ruohomaa. Bonner-Ganter is a retired curator who spent over 30 years researching Ruohomaa's life and work, publishing a biography of the photographer — titled Kosti Ruohomaa Photographer Poet — in 2016.

Ruohomaa (1914-1961) was a prolific and well-known photographer, whose photos were featured in Life Magazine, Look, National Geographic, Ladies Home Journal and Down East, among other publications. But his published work only encompasses 10 percent of his photographs, the rest of which remained unseen by the general public until Ruohomaa’s agency gifted a large collection of his work to Penobscot Marine Museum, in 2018.

Ruohomaa's photos capture the spirit of Maine, depicting the state's rugged landscape and hardworking people, finding the poetry in both. “Kosti Ruohomaa’s Beloved Maine’’ offers both a look at Ruohomaa's lesser-known work and a glimpse into the culture and beauty of Maine. For more information and to register, visit penobscotmarinemuseum.org/event/kosti-ruohomaa.