Otter Point Mount Desert Island Maine

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Willis H Ballard
Otter Point Mount Desert Island Maine
1930's

About the Item

Black and White seascape photograph of The Outpost in Mount Desert Island, Maine by Willis H. Ballard (American, 1906-1980). Circa 1930. Signed “Ballard” on the lower right corner of the back mat. Titled "The Outpost" on lower left corner of the back mat. Otter Point Mount Desert Island stamp on verso. Presented in a red wood frame, back mat, and white liner with glass. Image size: 7.75”H x 9.75”W Willis H. Ballard is a world famous photographer. He was born in Portland in 1906 and moved to Southwest Harbor in 1934 where he was a scenic photographer for about 45 years. Mr. Ballard died in 1980. His photographs were featured in several popular magazines and were displayed at major exhibits. Ballard established himself as a photographer of unique and exceptional ability. He was well known for his stunning scenic and photographs of all types of boats. Mr. Ballard shunned national exposure, wishing only a quiet and dedicated life on the lights.’” -The Bar Harbor Times. May 29, 1980. In 1933 Ballard took a felicitous weekend trip up the Maine coast to Mount Desert in order to take scenic photographs. Shortly afterward he and his wife, Ruth Farnham (Blood) Ballard decided to make Southwest Harbor their new home. Ballard designed a house and workshop to be built at 66 Clark Point Road in 1935. There he started the Anchor Light Studio, a business that spanned forty-three years. At first, scenic postcards and salon prints were his bread and butter, but whenever opportunity beckoned he diversified. He took portraits of babies, recorded children at school of the annual yearbooks and then did their graduation pictures. He illustrated books and took book jacket portraits. He rushed out after a snowfall to take pictures of the island, as it turned white. He photographed local homes and summer cottages. He appeared on advertising brochures for Mount Desert Island. He would entrust his camera equipment to the bow of a pitching boat in order to sailboat races. In order to photograph sailboat races. His images of the Southwest Harbor working waterfront with its boat building and fishing industries, coupled with his interest in copying and preserving old photographs, helped create a spacious historical record of life in Southwest Harbor. During World War II, Ballard was an official civilian photographer for the United States Army and Navy, which kept him busy during the war work at the Manset Boatyard (later the Henry R. Hinckley Company) and Southwest Boat Corporation. In 1937 he was represented by two beautiful photographs of Mount Dessert scenery at the Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute at Rochester, New York. One early scenic photographs selected to represent the United States at a Pan American Union Exhibit in 1941. In July of that year the front cover of “commercial Photography” magazine showed a Ballard photograph of the fron lawn of the Robert Kaighn cottage, “Balla Cragga,” in Southwest Harbor. By the time of his death, he had produced over a million post cards, each done by hand. The Southwest Harbor Public Library owns a significant collection of more than 3500 W.H. Ballard photographs and negatives. We determined to mount an exhibition at the library of Ballard’s life and photography. We wanted to show people how extensively he had captured life and work on Mount Desert Island.

Creator:
Willis H Ballard (1906 - 1980)
Creation Year:
1930's
Dimensions:
Height: 14.25 in (36.2 cm)Width: 15.75 in (40.01 cm)Depth: 0.75 in (1.91 cm)
Medium:
Photographic Paper,Silver Gelatin
Movement & Style:
American Realist
Period:
1930-1939
Condition:
Some normal age toning to mat, some previous loss of gelatin and black to areas of tree, cleaned and stabilized.
Gallery Location:
Soquel, CA
Reference Number:
Seller: GV57401stDibs: LU5424766982