Mary-Leigh Smart and Beverly Hallam
Essay by Donna McNeil

In Maine and beyond, Mary-Leigh Smart and Beverly Hallam are mythic creatures. Long time summer folk in Ogunquit and eventually year round residents of York, these two women were patron and painter respectively. Mary-Leigh had been coming to Ogunquit since she was a small child, voyaging by train and then carriage from Springfield Illinois where her father, Leigh Call, was publisher of the Springfield Times. Both Mary-Leigh, her parents before her and Beverly were key players in both the Ogunquit Art Association —organized in 1928—and the Barn Gallery, established in 1959. Both organizations descended from the century-old history of Ogunquit’s Art Colony, which had long- welcomed artists to Maine’s inspirational coast. Charles Woodbury and Hamilton Easter Field with protege Robert Laurent — beginning as early as 1911— offered opposing schools of art in Perkins Cove which brought many artists to Ogunquit, some of whom remained. Preceding the construction of the Barn Gallery, members and friends of the Ogunquit Art Association would gather for jazz and drinks along Perkins Cove. The Cove was home to the Left Bank Gallery, owned by Sidney and Frances Borofsky—parents of Jonathan Borofsky; the artist John Laurent who, as did many artists, lived and worked in a “fish shack”. David Von Schlegell had his sculpture studio nearby and other artists naturally gravitated to the area. Mary-Leigh Smart and her husband Jack Smart, a radio actor, returned from their European honeymoon to reside in the Cove in a house they built called Three Faces East which is now a waterfront restaurant. Beverly purchased a landmark raw edged wood clapboard house on Pine Hill Road, a short drive away.

In 1958, prompted by the need for a larger place to assemble and exhibit, Ogunquit Playhouse-owner John Lane donated land for the Barn Gallery; there still exists a pathway from the gallery to the playhouse. The Barn Gallery was founded by Mary-Leigh and Jack Smart, the artist- community pitched in and donated the labor, the existent structure was built and the Ogunquit Art Association and others began exhibiting their work. Originally a collecting institution, Beverly and Mary-Leigh certainly had a hand in the acquisitions. That collection, the Hamilton Easter Field Collection, is now in the trusted hands of the Portland Museum of Art. The openings at the barn Gallery were jolly affairs: there was a tradition of martinis served punch bowl style in the dry town of Ogunquit, and the vernissage served as a defacto bar. This was the social milieu that surrounded Mary-Leigh and Beverly from early adulthood, on. As was their way, they remained influential supporters forever. It wasn’t until Jack Smart passed away in 1960 that Beverly and Mary-Leigh, returning from an extended European visit, decided to build the oceanfront modernist duplex house on Surf Point Road, and live together. Secreted in the garage was a red Corvette with the license plate CLAM in which Beverly, top down, swanned around town.

Mary-Leigh Smart was always a patron. Nurtured by her mother Mary—a ceramicist and painter—she devoted her life to advancing the creative endeavors of others, readily purchasing works of art that compelled her. These were most often modernist abstractions, although in the foyer, which housed a rotating exhibit of their collection, there was at times a finely rendered realist drawing by Alan Magee of his wife Monica’s blonde braid. Mary-Leigh—who always insisted on the hyphen in her name—had a knack for spotting upcoming artists, buying not for investment but passion. She amassed a Who’s Who of Maine and American art, with a few notable Europeans included. A construction from Maine artist Louise Nevelson and a sound sculpture by Italian designer Harry Bertoia graced her living room, alongside signature mid-century furniture. A defining abstract iron sculpture by John Ventimiglia hails the approach of the house. And of course many works by Beverly Hallam were on view throughout.

Their home at Surf Point boasted not only an indoor salt water lap-pool, but every artist’s dream studio. There Beverly had the time and space to create her signature large scale air brush flower paintings. Her process was meticulous. Extraordinarily organized, she kept voluminous notebooks, recording every idea, every sketch, every color. Conversely, her regimented side was wonderfully offset by her wildly stunning collection of artist- designed and crafted jewelry, and her penchant for lighted ice cubes in her cocktail!

Mary-Leigh and Beverly were at every regional opening, first ones in the door, getting the best look. They seemed to know immediately what they wanted to take home, to live with. They conferred quickly and bought on the spot.

Mary-Leigh, an alumna of Wellesley College where she majored in French and wrote her thesis on Andre Gide, was a lifetime devotee to the institution, attending exhibitions and consulting with Wellesley museum professionals regarding Surf Point Foundation. Likewise, Beverly Hallam—professor at Mass College of Art from 1949-1961— alway held a soft spot for her alma mater. It was there, in the early 1950s, where she was allowed to research and pioneer the use of Polyvinyl Acetate as a painting medium, now called “acrylic.” Both Mary-Leigh and Beverly strongly supported the Gallery at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, where on occasion they purchased pieces from the exhibitions.

Beverly and Mary-Leigh were loyal, pure and simple. And perfectionists! Their standards were intimidatingly high, offset by their extensive generosity and sheer love of life. In the late 1990s they began to slow down their collecting—although at times they simply couldn’t help themselves—turning their attention and resources primarily toward the creation of their legacy foundation. Surf Point Foundation will undoubtedly claim a place in the foremost ranks of coveted residency programs and live on as an enduring tribute to two astonishing and impactful women.