Co-Hosting the Ninth Biannual Symposium of the Association of Historians of American Art

On September 24–26, Bowdoin College and the Bowdoin College Museum of Art (BCMA) co-hosted the Ninth Biannual Symposium of the Association of Historians of American Art (AHAA). Organized in collaboration with Colby College and the Colby College Museum of Art, and the Portland Museum of Art, this convening marked the first time the symposium—which has been held biannually since 2010—was hosted in Maine. With events drawing upon Maine’s rich artistic legacy and the collections of the host institutions, the symposium attracted 171 registrants from across the country—a record for the organization!     

Across three days and three venues, participants were able to engage with a broad range of critical topics in panel discussions and roundtables. Events kicked off on Thursday, September 24 with a special panel at the Portland Museum of Art, on “Transforming Museums Across the Dawnland.” Featuring commentary from Danikah Chartier (artist and curator), Kendall DeBoer (Colby College Museum of Art), Ramey Mize (Philadelphia Museum of Art, formerly Portland Museum of Art), and Sarah Sockbeson (Penobscot; artist), the session explored how institutions in Maine are reimagining their roles and responsibilities within the homelands of the Wabanaki peoples, and helped to situate visitors in the space of the Dawnland. 

Following the opening keynote, Friday, September 25 and Saturday, September 26 featured sessions investigating a broad range of themes, such as Indigenous histories and archival temporalities, environmental construction and destruction, racial geographies, Jewish experiences in American art, disability studies, the evolving definitions of national identity and borders, and more. Several presentations helped to illuminate Maine’s cultural histories, including a roundtable discussion on the art and activism of Tomah Joseph (Passamaquoddy), and a paper on the 1974 Afro-American summer sessions at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. Bowdoin alum were among the featured speakers, including James Denison ’14, who shared new research on artist John Marin, and Elizabeth Humphrey ’14, who presented ongoing dissertation research in an emerging scholar lightning round.   

Importantly, participants also had an opportunity to engage with the collections and exhibitions of the host institutions, and the schedule of events included curator-led tours of Winslow Homer: Painter, Etcher at the Portland Museum of Art (cur. Ramey Mize) and By Design: The Worlds of Betsy James Wyeth led by curator Kendall DeBoer (Colby College Museum of Art). Additional opportunities were made available so that registrants could further engage with the artistic histories and collections in Maine, including optional excursions to Victoria Mansion, the Winslow Homer Studio, and the Farnsworth Art Museum.    

A new feature of the 2026 symposium was object-based gallery talks that spotlighted specific objects within the collections of the Colby College Museum of Art and the Bowdoin College Museum of Art. On Saturday, September 24, Molly Eckel from the Columbus Museum of Art delivered a talk on Rockwell Kent, highlighting Sun, Manana, Monhegan from the BCMA’s collection. Anne Cross, BCMA Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellow, also shared the museum’s recent acquisition of the sculpture Ellis Sanders by the contemporary artist Adebunmi Gbadebo.