Sightings: A Maine Coast Odyssey

by Peter Ralston, Betsy Wyeth (Afterword), Christopher Crosman (Introduction)

When he was a young man finding his way in the world, award-winning photographer Peter Ralston was introduced to the beautiful and austere coast of Maine by his friends Andrew and Betsy Wyeth. It was an introduction that was to change his life forever. In Maine's coastal communities, and especially on its islands, Ralston found what every artist is looking a place to spend a creative lifetime, a subject that embodies every element of human experience. Includes an afterword by Betsy and Andrew Wyeth. —This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Genres: Nonfiction

145 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Peter Ralston grew up in Chadd’s Ford, Pennsylvania, worked for a decade as a freelance photojournalist, and then began photographing the coast of Maine in 1978, drawn especially to the working communities that define the coast’s enduring character.

Instrumental in forming the Island Institute in 1983, Peter Ralston served as its executive vice-president until 2010. Until then he contributed most of the photography and served as art director for the Institute's Island Journal since its inception. He continues to spend as much time as he possibly can on and around islands.

His work has been reproduced in many books and magazines, featured repeatedly on network television and has been exhibited in galleries, collections and museums throughout the United States and abroad.

In 2003 Peter was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree at Colby College for his photography as well as his role as co-founder of the Island Institute.

Peter and his wife, Terri, opened Ralston Gallery in Rockport, Maine, in 2011, selling his photographs as well as the work of his lifelong friends, Andrew and Jamie Wyeth. He is currently working on a major book about the Maine coast.

Although, as a young man, Ralston studied very briefly under Ansel Adams, he acknowledges the greater artistic influence of a lifetime of association with the Wyeths – close friends and incisive mentors.

Reviews

[Waven · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love, love, love this book. Ralston's simple but touching descriptions accompany his spectacular photography to form a beautiful composition that I have read, re-read, and enjoyed for years. I originally happened across it in the local library and immediately fell in love. Most would consider it a sort of coffee table book but it should not be dismissed as just another run-of-the-mill sort. It stands alone perfectly well and will occupy a space on my favorites shelf for the forseeable future.