Rufus Porter’s Curious World: Art and Invention in America, 1815-1860 Umbrellas and the joys of snow

and the joys of snow in winter

In August 2014

and see our breath steam in the cold of winter

the artist and his fellow contributors examine Wegman's relationship to place and his sources of inspiration

which serve as the college’s grounding philosophy—using key objects from Bowdoin’s diverse collection

Rufus Porter’s Curious World: Art and Invention in America, 1815-1860 Umbrellas and the joys of snowEdited by Laura Fecych Sprague and Justin Wolff Once called the Yankee Da Vinci, Rufus Porter was an itinerant portrait painter and muralist, a publisher and author, an inventor of mechanical improvements, and an impresario who engineered an airship that promised to fly gold rush prospectors from New York to California in three days. Through his diverse interests in painting, mechanics, aeronautics, and publishing, Rufus Porter helped transform art