Book excerpt: THE MONHEGAN MUSEUM: CELEBRATING FIFTY YEARS Edward L. Deci, Emily R. Grey, Jennifer G. Pye, and Robert L. Stahl with contributions by James F. O¿Gorman and Earle G. Shettleworth, Jr. edited by Robert L. Stahl Monhegan Museum of Art & History, Monhegan Island, Maine 2018 THE MONHEGAN MUSEUM OF ART & HISTORY was founded in 1968 when automation of the Monhegan Light Station provided the opportunity to acquire the property and transform it into a venue to preserve and display the island¿s rich historical and cultural heritage. As Edward L. Deci, director of the museum for thirty-five years, writes: ¿Remarkably, on this small, isolated island the human history has been extraordinary.¿ The museum now houses a collection of more than 30,000 objects, including nearly 1,500 works of art, many created by some of the giants of American art who have been associated with the 160 year history of the Monhegan art colony.THE MONHEGAN MUSEUM: CELEBRATING FIFTY YEARS represents a special commemorative volume that brings together authors whose varied disciplines capture many different aspects of this unusual museum. Essays describe the Monhegan art colony and its artists; the visionaries of the island community who worked together to bring this museum to fruition; the historical buildings of the museum; the programs that have been initiated to ensure sustainability of the buildings and the conservation of the collection; and the history of the Kent-Fitzgerald Historic Artists¿ Home and Studio. Included are approximately ninety full-color reproductions of works from the museum¿s collections and fifty historic images from its archives.