Haystack Mountain 41.3 Article

When the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts opened its doors in Montville, Maine, in 1950, it was something of a makeshift operation. A group of devoted craftspeople, led by the charismatic Francis Merritt and supported by a generous patron, Mary Beasom Bishop, set up the school on the slopes of Haystack Mountain, a short way inland from the mid-coast, and began to teach. The rest is craft history. Originated at the Portland Museum of Art, “In the Vanguard: Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, 1950-1969” presents the story of the first two decades of what became one of the preeminent craft schools in the world.