Returning Home Jeanne McCartin, spotlight@seacoastonline.com Charles V. Goodhue Online Art Gallery

They are 35 picture-perfect views of a Portsmouth gone by, captured by a man caught by its charm.

The painter, Charles V. Goodhue, was neither a native nor would he live out his life on this small patch of coast. But for the 20-plus years he resided in the community, between 1950 and the mid-'70s, Goodhue would paint scores of watercolors that would capture a Portsmouth before the boon that changed its face forever.

"I thought Portsmouth was a beautiful city. The historical buildings captivated me," Goodhue says by phone from his home in Georgetown, Maine. "When I lived there ... it was some of the happiest days of my life. I would love to go back and live there again."

While the artist won't be back to stay, at the age of 85 and well aware of his own mortality, Goodhue has decided that at least his paintings will return to the city he loved. As of Sunday they have been on display at their new permanent home, The Portsmouth Athenaeum.

Originally it was Goodhue's intent to sell off his Portsmouth paintings. He had even gone so far as to schedule a show at the Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery for that purpose. Eventually he came to believe they would be better served if they remained as a group. And what better place for them to be, but in the city they portray.

Once he made the decision to return them to Portsmouth, he needed to find the proper place, he says. The 30-plus years away left him with little knowledge of the community and no contacts. So, like so many folks in the 21st century, he took a ride on the super highway to check things out.

"I was surfing the Web and found Portsmouth. Then I found Peter (Randall) as a publisher. I saw he had published a lot of books on Portsmouth. So I called him," Goodhue says. "We talked. ...

He was absolutely fascinated."

Peter Randall, now curator of the Goodhue exhibit, remembers the phone call.

"I had a phone call from a man one day last spring. ... It was very serendipitous," he says. "(Good hue) said, 'You don't know who I am, I'm Charles Goodhue.' I said 'Of course I knew who you are.'" Randall recognized the man's name because, though it was at different times, both men had worked for the local magazine, New Hampshire Profiles.

Goodhue told Randall that he was looking for somewhere to leave a lot of paintings he'd done of the city when he resided there. The two men talked awhile, and Randall decided to take the trip to Georgetown to see Goodhue's work.

"I went up and looked at the real paintings. ... (Goodhue) hadn't done anything with them for 50 years. He'd framed most of them and kept them around, though he wasn't exactly sure what he was going to do with them," Randall says. "They were wonderful. ...

They have a fine artistic value too."

Randall, who is a vice president of the Athenaeum, suggested the venue as a possible home for Goodhue's work. Till Randall's visit, Goodhue hadn't even known the organization existed, the artist says. Once he found out more about the Athenaeum, he thought it a good placement for his work.

Next, the Athenaeum committee made the trek to Georgetown to look at the paintings.

"At first I thought I wanted them to buy them," Goodhue says. "Then I realized they were a nonprofit, and so I gave them to them.

"I've sold a lot of paintings in my lifetime, been involved with over 30 to 40 galleries in my lifetime, but that's no legacy," he says. "Having a group (of works) that will be enjoyed for years to come makes me very happy. ... It's a legacy."

What is truly special about Goodhue's works, according to Randall, is they are of a Portsmouth gone by, captured 50 years before urban renewal, development and modernization of properties. There are few people left who can identify all the paintings, he says.

Randall, who recognizes most the areas depicted in Goodhue's work, says there are a few areas depicted that no longer exist, that were torn down during urban renewal such as the Italian North End. Other areas are easily identifiable, such as the South End, which appears much the same. There are scenes of High, Mechanic, Gates, Gardner and Livermore streets, to name a few.

Still other paintings focus on boats, their locations unclear.

Randall says they are hoping that someone will recognize the boats and identify their locations.

Goodhue has donated two of his paintings to Strawbery Banke Museum. Another painting depicting Rye Harbor will be offered at the Anthenaeum in a silent auction that will benefit the venue.

Once the current exhibition comes down in June, there are plans to loan the works to other institutions within the city, Randall says.

"They are very beautiful paintings," Randall says. "We're thrilled to have the paintings, thrilled at his generosity."

For his part, Goodhue is pleased his work has found a place where it is valued. Clear that his health is poor, He knows donating his work to the Athenaeum means it will be shared with others. That it will have purpose.

Goodhue, a native of Leominster, Mass., has painted all his life. He recalls, at age 7 or 8, painting alongside his mother, who was also an artist.

Even given the family's interest in the field, his parents had hoped he would go on to business school.

But his strong interest in art eventually persuaded them to allow him to pursue it as a career.

Goodhue originally studied at the New England School of Art. He soon transferred to the Massachusetts School of Fine Art, then switched to Pratt Institute of Fine and Applied Art in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he graduated in 1940 at the top of his class.

Immediately after graduation he went to work in New York City for an art agency. Two months into the job he designed a cover for Architectural Photo Magazine, which took a first place Art Director Award. Rather than proving a boon to his position, the award proved to be the end of it.

"The man that I worked for put his name on it, took the award and the gold medal. I told him I was upset. It was my design. He said, 'You work for me, I own you,'" he recalls. "I said, 'No you don't,' and I quit."

He was soon employed with a Massachusetts firm as a graphic artist. It was while working there he saw an add for a job in Manchester. Though he didn't get that one, they told him about a Portsmouth magazine, New Hampshire Profiles, that was looking for an art director. He landed the position and moved his family to North Hampton.

The job breakdown was such that he would "work like crazy for a few weeks," than have two where there was little to do, he says. It was during those down weeks that Goodhue captured the city on paper.

"In the summer I would paint with my easel. In the winter I would sit in my car and paint," he recalls. "At times ... I had a boat and I would go up and down the river. Several paintings are from sketches I did from the boat."

After Goodhue left "Profiles" he opened his own art/marketing agency in his home. In the late '70s, poor health forced him to give up the business and move from the community.

At 85, he still paints, though it is more from memory now, he says. Two bypass surgeries and numerous other health issues keep him from going on location to work.

But he still insists on painting.

"I've always been an artist. ... Still am," he says. "Art to me is therapy. When I'm upset I go out and paint. When I'm depressed, I paint."

While still living in the community, Goodhue's work appeared at the Home Center in Rye, Water Street Gallery in Exeter and Parsonage Gallery in Durham. He's also exhibited throughout the country, including the Hobe Sound Gallery in Portland, Maine, and the School House Gallery in Sanibel, Florida.

He's quite sure the current show at the Athenaeum will be his last during his lifetime.

"I'm truly glad they will stay together," Goodhue says of the paintings. "They're my legacy. I'm glad they have a home. ... I just always liked the city, the river, the old houses, it's quaintness. ... It's where the paintings belong."

The Art of Charles V. Goodhue will be on display at The Portsmouth Athenaeum, 6-8 Market St., Portsmouth, through June 2. The Athenaeum is open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, from 1 to 4 p.m. Groups are welcome by appointment. On Thursday, April 19, at 7 p.m., curator Peter E. Randall will lead "Remembering Portsmouth," a panel discussion with slides. Reservations are required for the talk. Call 431-2538 for more information. The Athenaeum is a nonprofit membership library and museum founded in 1817 and located in Market Square, Portsmouth.

Charles V. Goodhue Online Art Gallery

Click here for more features... Seacoastst Online posts Arts & Entertainment listings and features from
Spotlight Magazine every week. For even more listings and features,
pick up a copy of Spotlight in Thursday's Herald at your
local news stand, or subscribe today!