The Lincoln County Historical Association will host a lecture by Farnsworth curator Jane Bianco, entitled “Maine and the Index of American Design” at the Lincoln County Communications (“911”) building at 34 Bath Road in Wiscasset, at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 17 (rescheduled from an earlier date due to inclement weather.) A related exhibition of the same name is on view at the Farnsworth’s Crosman Gallery through March 24.

One of the most ambitious of the Federal Art Projects during the Great Depression was the Index of American Design, a relief project that between 1935 and 1942 engaged artists to contribute to a picture archive of American popular arts. In Maine and elsewhere, artists illustrated objects comprising two hundred years of the nation’s decorative arts history. Their work comprises a collection of more than eighteen thousand illustrations now housed in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. The Farnsworth exhibition features twenty-four Maine project illustrations from the Index of American Design collection on loan from the National Gallery, along with archival photographs and some of the original artifacts they depict, including carvings by local Maine carver Edbury Hatch. Jane Bianco will present her research on Hatch and his connection to the national project in her talk.

During her 11 years with the Farnsworth, Ms. Bianco has organized exhibitions of paintings, textiles, architecture, sculpture, photography and prints. She has a background in American art history and illustration.

The Lincoln County Historical Association is a non-profit organization providing stewardship for the 1754 Chapman-Hall House in Damariscotta, the 1761 Pownalborough Court House in Dresden, and the 1811 Old Jail and Museum in Wiscasset. For more information, visit our website at www.lincolncountyhistory.org or on Facebook at Lincoln County Historical Association Maine.

The public is encouraged to attend the Winter Series Lectures and enjoy their warm conviviality.

Coffee and pastries will be served. Suggested donation is $5.