Magic Light

Monhegan Island is a rocky speck 12 miles off the Maine coast.  It measures just 1.75 miles long and .75 mile across.  There are no automobiles allowed.  You can't even bring a bicycle. 

While the island’s 75 full time residents are lobstermen, Monhegan is most famous as an art colony; one that became prominent in the 1890s and remains so today.  Like northern New Mexico, Monhegan boasts magic light that has inspired generations of artists including Edward Hopper, Rockwell Kent and Jamie Wyeth. 

The island’s lighthouse sits at the height of land. I photographed it as the sun disappeared beneath the horizon behind me.  The white clapboards of the adjacent buildings seem to glow against the darkening sky.