Together, We'll Do It, c. 2022
Together, We'll Do It, c. 2022
Artist: Gordon Carlisle The SPACE on the River 181 Water Street
Skowhegan, Somerset County, Maine
From the Echoes, Still: Maine's Industrial Remnants Collection (2024–2028)
Murals Portfolio
Historical Narrative
Together, We’ll Do It: Interpreting Skowhegan;s Labor, Industry, and the Kennebec River Through Public Art
Kevin LeDuc Pigment print on Hahnemühle Baryta Edition of 5 + 1 Artist's Proof (Portfolio of 40 Images)
Paper Size: 40 × 55 inches Image Size: 31.33 × 37 inches Borders: Approximately 4 inches (All Sides)
Historic Significance
The three paintings present a chronological interpretation of Skowhegan's history. The left panel commemorates the 1907 Marston Worsted Mill strike, recognizing the women and men who organized for improved wages, safer working conditions, and fair treatment. The center panel portrays the log drives that once carried timber down the Kennebec River, highlighting the river's importance to Maine's nineteenth- and early twentieth-century lumber industry. The right panel depicts fly fishing on the Kennebec River, symbolizing the river's modern role as a recreational resource and the community's commitment to conservation and riverfront revitalization. Together, the mural connects Skowhegan's industrial heritage with its contemporary identity, demonstrating how public art can preserve local history while fostering community pride.
Historical Narrative
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In 2021, the Wesserunsett Arts Council (WesArts) selected the Skowhegan Savings Bank Records Building on Madison Avenue (U.S. Route 201) as one of the locations for the Maine Bicentennial Mural Project. The call for artists stated that the mural at this site would depict important milestones in Skowhegan’s history.¹ Maine artist Gordon Carlisle was selected to create the work, which he titled Together, We’ll Do It.² Completed in 2022, the three-panel mural was originally installed on the exterior of the Skowhegan Savings Bank Records Building before being relocated later that year to The SPACE on the River at 181 Water Street following a misunderstanding regarding the artwork selected for the building.³ Today, the mural overlooks the Kennebec River, where its themes continue to connect visitors with Skowhegan’s rich industrial, labor, and environmental history.
Carlisle’s mural presents a chronological interpretation of Skowhegan’s past through three interconnected scenes. The left panel commemorates the 1907 Marston Worsted Mill strike, recognizing the women and men who organized for improved wages, safer working conditions, and fair treatment. The center panel depicts the log drives that once carried millions of board feet of timber down the Kennebec River, illustrating the river’s essential role in Maine’s lumber industry during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The right panel portrays fly fishing on the Kennebec River, symbolizing the river’s modern significance as a recreational resource and reflecting ongoing efforts to restore and protect its natural environment. Together, the three paintings demonstrate how Skowhegan evolved from an industrial community shaped by manufacturing and logging into a town that values historic preservation, environmental stewardship, and cultural revitalization. As Carlisle has explained, the title Together, We’ll Do It reflects the common thread uniting the three scenes: the belief that collective action and shared responsibility have shaped Skowhegan’s past and continue to influence its future.⁴
Footnotes
Kathleen Phalen Tomaselli, “Open Call for Public Mural Project Offers $12,000 in Mural Commissions,” Bangor Daily News, May 11, 2021.
Gordon Carlisle, Murals and Public Art.
Megan Gray, “Removal of Art Display Brings into Focus Century-Old Skowhegan Labor Strike,” Portland Press Herald, May 24, 2022.
Maine AFL-CIO, “Skowhegan Mural Honors Women Mill Workers and Maine Labor History,” 2022.
Bibliography
Carlisle, Gordon. Murals and Public Art.
Gray, Megan. “Removal of Art Display Brings into Focus Century-Old Skowhegan Labor Strike.” Portland Press Herald. May 24, 2022.
Maine AFL-CIO. “Skowhegan Mural Honors Women Mill Workers and Maine Labor History.” 2022.
Tomaselli, Kathleen Phalen. “Open Call for Public Mural Project Offers $12,000 in Mural Commissions.” Bangor Daily News. May 11, 2021.