Some years ago, when we had recently retired to the state of Maine, we frequently had houseguests traveling up to see us from our old home in Kensington, MD. Of course we proudly showed them our five lighthouses and five beaches, all within a few miles of our new home in Scarborough, but the highlight was always a visit to the Winslow Homer Studio on Prouts Neck.

In those days we were all young enough to enjoy a long walk and that is what the visit entailed. First, we had to judge the tide (this intrigued our landlocked guests), then we had to park at Scarborough Beach (not yet a state park), and walk down the beach, past the sea walls and the grand summer cottages, past the swimming pool belonging to the swanky Black Point Inn, and up onto the rocks to find the path that wound around the Neck, over cobble beaches, through swampy areas and past the old World War II observation tower.

Finally, after about an hour (our guests frequently had to stop to stare out across the ocean, pick up an empty sea urchin shell, or admire a bit of twisted, weatherbeaten hemlock) we would arrive at the iconic studio and venture up across the lawn for a closer view. Often the studio was open and someone would come to the door and welcome us inside. Several times, Doris Homer was there to greet us and treat us to a wonderful tour with many anecdotes concerning her illustrious relative. These were magical times and we always exclaimed at how fortunate we were to have the studio so nearby our home – not exactly easily accessible because of the strictly-enforced restrictions on parking by the residents of Prouts, but definitely available if we were willing to make the effort and the tide cooperated.

Of course we are delighted that the Portland Museum of Art has rescued the studio, with a marvelous restoration costing $6 million and with the intention of opening it up to the public by scheduled van visits. Knowledgeable docents are in attendance, with information on Homer’s life and copies of his most famous paintings. They point out the fireplace where he cooked his meals, and where he etched his name, “Winslow,” on a windowpane, and the signs he posted to discourage visitors. However, we were appalled to see the ugly split-log fence surrounding the studio on three sides and cutting visitors off from the path down to the rocks and ocean. It certainly made it more difficult to imagine that amazing artist reveling in his secluded hideaway with the ocean as his constant companion – the placid seas of idyllic summer days, to the mighty waves of winter storms.

If you are following Maine’s Civil War Trail, a trip to the PMA’s fourth floor is a necessity. We are so attuned to Winslow Homer’s magnificent oils painted while at Prouts Neck, we forget the years he spent covering the Civil War while working for Harper’s Weekly. The magazine sent him to report on the Peninsula Campaign and he spent some months in camp at Yorktown where he witnessed cavalry charges, observed wounded soldiers, and feared catching typhoid fever.

His first oil painting, “Sharpshooter,” pictures a Union soldier crouched in a pine tree, rifle at the ready. On the wall next to it is the Harper’s Weekly engraving that inspired the painting. They are similar, but if you look closely you can see that in the oil, Homer has eliminated the canteen hanging from a branch, has increased the density of the pine branches and, most importantly, has blurred the soldier’s face – the painting now depicts the anonymous face of war. Homer himself said, after looking through the telescopic sight of an army rifle, it is “as near murder as anything I can think of.” His mother wrote, “he suffered much, was without food three days at a time and all in camp either died or were carried away with typhoid fever. He came home so changed that his best friends did not know him.”

Another engraving from the Dec. 21, 1861, Harper’s Weekly, “A Bivoac Fire on the Potomac” puts a more human face on the war. Union soldiers are gathered around a campfire watching an escaped black slave dance – a full moon peeks out from behind the row of army tents in the background. Two soldiers, in bold silhouette, are playing cards in the foreground, another soldier claps his hands in appreciation of the dance. Other engravings concerned with the more intimate moments of camp life include “Christmas Boxes in Camp” and “Thanksgiving Day in the Army – After Dinner; The Wish Bone.” This most informative exhibit is on view until Dec. 8.

War is also the inspiration for the exhibit, “Ahmed Alsoudani: Redacted” – the artist is an Iraqi, born in Baghdad in 1975 under the regime of Saddam Hussein. He lived through the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), the invasion of Kuwait (1990) and the Gulf War (1990-1991). When he was 20 years old, he left his family and fled to Syria – from there he immigrated to the United States, eventually ending up with an Iraqi family in Portland. His artistic ability was soon recognized and he was invited to attend the Maine College of Art, (BFA, 2005), the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 2006 and Yale School of Art (MFA 2008). His paintings are known internationally, they sell for six figures, but he is pleased to have his first museum show in Portland Maine where he says, he spent seven very important years of his creative life.

His paintings, charcoal drawings on canvas, filled in with bright acrylic paints, are difficult – we were lucky to attend an introduction to his work given by Mark Bessaire, director of PMA and a personal friend of the artist. Critics have described them as tumultuous, and turbulent, chaotic and claustrophobic, bold and brilliant. I found them fascinating. The show closes Dec. 8.

Marta Bent lives in Scarborough.