FREE EVENT Susan Tobey White, Artist at Left Bank Books

Join us for a fun and informative evening when Belfast artist Susan Tobey White presents her new book, Lobstering Women of Maine: Paintings and Stories of Women and Girls Who Fish the Maine Coast, that vividly captures Maine women’s participation in today’s lobster fishing industry. Her paintings tell the story of the hard work and long hours these women put in daily to be successful in an industry dominated by men. The women featured range from ten-year-old Norah who fishes in Wells to 102-year-old (yes, you read that right) Virginia who fishes out of Rockland with her 78-year-old son Max. In between, Susan profiles a former Maine state legislator, a woman who got her captain’s license at age 45, and a current student at the University of Maine, among others. Each two-page spread in the book features a photograph and brief story about the woman being profiled as well, of course, as a full-page image of the original acrylic painting.

Susan, a former elementary art teacher, has always featured women in her colorful and full-of-energy paintings. She began her “Lobstering Women of Maine” series in 2018; in 2019, her work was featured at the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport Maine, which resulted in numerous print articles and television interviews. She’s now completed 24 paintings in the series.