Georgetown Historical Society to host 2 special guests for discussions

Georgetown Historical Society Hosts Art and History Events in September

The Georgetown Historical Society (GHS) is drawing art lovers and history buffs to its 20 Bay Point Road location with two special events scheduled for next week. On Wednesday, September 9, a reception and talk will spotlight the life and work of French sculptor Gaston Lachaise, while on Thursday, September 10, author Ron Romano will discuss his new book, Stories from Maine Cemeteries – Lives Cut Short.

A Look at Lachaise’s “Garden Figure”

From 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, GHS will welcome Paula Hornbostel, director and trustee of the New‑York–based Lachaise Foundation, to share her expertise on the sculptor’s career and his celebrated “Garden Figure.” The Foundation recently donated a cast of the piece to GHS, offering a chance for locals to see a work that once graced an American garden.

Born in Paris in 1882, Gaston Lachaise emerged during a time of artistic upheaval in Europe and the United States. By his late teens he was studying at the École des Beaux‑Arts, and his pieces were already appearing in national exhibitions. The artist later recalled that at age twenty, a chance encounter in Paris “with a young American person who immediately became the primary inspiration which awakened my vision and the leading influence that has directed my forces” would change his career.

That American was Isabel Dutaud Nagle, a summer guest at her family’s Georgetown estate, then traveling with her son Edward. Lachaise, then a young sculptor, fell in love with Isabel’s charm and the inspiration she sparked in him. Their romance is evident in the “Garden Figure,” a nearly life‑size model originally cast in cement and later replicated in four additional figures from the same mold. Lachaise and Isabel kept a cast that once stood in their Georgetown garden, overlooking Robinhood Cove amid ferns and birch trees. Today, that original cast resides with the Portland Museum of Art, while the GHS piece was privately commissioned around 1935 and later joined the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden collection at the Smithsonian.

Hornbostel will guide visitors through the sculpture’s history, its artistic significance, and the story of how a French artist’s work came to be part of the small New England town’s cultural heritage. Refreshments will be served.

Romano’s Book Talk and Signing

On Thursday night, from 7 p.m. onward, GHS will host author Ron Romano for a talk and signing of his latest book, Stories from Maine Cemeteries – Lives Cut Short. Romano, a noted cemetery historian and guide, will take guests on a journey through Maine’s 19th‑century burial sites, where symbols and monuments reveal untold narratives.

Romano’s book explores how epitaphs, monument forms, and cemetery landscapes encode information about the deceased. He will highlight the story of Bessie Oliver, born in 1874, a descendant of Georgetown’s White Oliver family. After a life that included a move to New York City, Bessie returned to South Portland to die, bringing with her secrets that remained hidden for a century. The author will also discuss how gravestones adorned with snapped flower buds, broken tree branches, and cracked columns suggest those buried within died prematurely, whether by lightning, shipwreck, accident, disease, or even a sensational murder.

In addition to the book discussion, attendees can view Maine gravestones from the 1800s in a dedicated exhibit. The GHS exhibition will provide a tactile sense of the era’s funerary art, allowing visitors to observe the subtle details that reveal a society’s fears and hopes.

Community Engagement

Both events aim to deepen residents’ appreciation of Georgetown’s cultural and historical roots. The Lachaise talk connects the town’s past to the broader narrative of early 20th‑century art, while Romano’s book offers a local perspective on the region’s burial practices and the lives that were abruptly cut short.

The GHS reception and the book talk are open to the public, with free admission. The society will provide refreshments for the Lachaise event; the book signing will feature signed copies of Romano’s new volume for purchase.

For those interested in a richer understanding of how art and history intertwine within Georgetown, the Historical Society’s September programming offers a compelling blend of cultural insight and community storytelling.