The Rufus Porter Museum in Bridgton held a grand opening for its newest building, the Graham Center, on Friday, June 20. The Graham Center is the third building on the campus of the museum, which honors the life and work of the 19th century artist and visionary.

The Graham Center displays the Norton House Murals, a set of 1840 murals from Jonathan Poor, Porter’s nephew, which were removed from a house in East Baldwin in 2011.

Executive Director Daniel Dinsmore, who described the murals as some of the best extant painted wall murals in New England, told Lakes Region Now that the original plans for the Graham Center were made in 2012, shortly after the murals were purchased by the museum. After about a decade of delays, the museum broke ground in 2022 and it was completed by 2024 at a cost of around $2.3 million.

Dinsmore said that over the winter, the museum had been working to get the space ready for the new season, and officially opened the Norton foyer and murals on Friday, with six murals being displayed for the first time. He also characterized the murals as an excellent addition to the existing Rufus Porter murals at the Nathan Church House, which is also part of the museum.

At the opening ceremony, Dinsmore acknowledged the work of the museum’s group of trustees in raising the money for construction of the building. He also acknowledged Nelle Ealy, who helped rescue the Church House from a developer 24 years ago, and unveiled a plaque to honor Beth Cossey, founder of the museum, who died last October. The Graham Center, he told attendees, was not just a new building, but the physical embodiment of a desire to bring people together. He said the museum hoped to create a vibrant place that people from all walks of life can explore and connect to.

“If I could sum up the life of Rufus Porter in one word, it would be ‘catalyst,’” Barbara Yates, president of the board of trustees, told the attendees.

Yates acknowledged not only the legacy of Rufus Porter and the generations of artists who have benefited from his creativity, but also the people who have had a hand over the years in making the museum and the new building come to fruition. She gave a brief history of the museum, which was originally opened 20 years ago with just the Church House and purchased the John and Maria Webb House in 2011. Meanwhile, Acting Curator Lucas Gillespie unveiled the 1840 patent model for Rufus Porter’s sensitive fire alarm, which was given to the museum on a two-year loan from the Hagley Museum in Wilmington, Delaware.

State Sen. Rick Bennett said the ceremony was not just an unveiling of walls and artwork, but also part of a mission to honor creativity and the life of Rufus Porter. Bennett said the exhibition was an important mixture of art and history which, to him, respectively inspire empathy and teach resilience. He said the space should be seen as a living, breathing part of the Bridgton community, where they celebrate ingenuity past and present, and where new stories begin.

The last speaker was Therese Johnson, who served as board president during the “Raise the Rufus!” campaign that successfully helped raise funds for the construction of the Graham Center. Johnson said she was appreciative of everyone who helped make the campaign possible, and specifically praised Judith and William Graham, the building’s namesakes, who have been generous supporters of the museum, and the former of whom chaired the building’s Capital Committee. She also spoke about Cossey, who she described as being “truly the heart of this museum.”