Bernard Langlais (1923-1977)
Born in Old Town, Maine, the son of a carpenter and in an area that relied for its economy on the timber industry, Langlais studied commercial art in Washington, D.C., before enlisting in the Navy in 1942. After his military training he attended the Corcoran School of Art, the Brooklyn Museum Art School, and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. He later attended the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere in Paris, and the Kunstakademie in Oslo, Norway.
For the major portion of his life Langlais lived and worked in New York City, painting primarily abstract works. In 1956 he and his wife purchased a summer house in Cushing, Maine, and while renovating the cottage he rediscovered an interest in wood-working. During the 1960′s his work in collage, construction and assemblage gained significant recognition. He exhibited with artists such as Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Louise Nevelson and Red Grooms, and his work was represented in the galleries of Leo Castelli, Allan Stone, and Martha Jackson. In 1966 he and his wife moved permanently to Cushing, Maine, where he died in 1977.