"Jim Moore: Midcoast Correspondent" with Matt Wheeler, Penobscot Marine Museum

Penobscot Marine Museum Digital Curator Matt Wheeler presented an illustrated talk on Tuesday, April 16, “Jim Moore: Midcoast Correspondent.” The presentation explores Moore’s life and work as a denizen of Midcoast Maine. This event was presented in conjunction with the “Jim Moore: Midcoast Correspondent” exhibit from the Penobscot Marine Museum in the Picker Room Gallery during the month of April, as well as the library's Maritime Month.
As a child, Jim Moore had the opportunity to visit a noted news photographer’s darkroom, which sparked a lifelong interest in cameras and photography. In 1940, he moved to Rockland with his new bride, Cecile, where he became Correspondent Reporter/Photographer for the Portland Press Herald’s Rockland office, and represented other Gannett Publishing papers in Maine. During his career, he distinguished himself as a photojournalist, receiving local and national awards for his work. He worked with fellow Midcoast photographers Kosti Ruohomaa and Carroll Thayer Berry to publish Maine Coastal Portrait in 1959. Moore died in 2001. The Penobscot Marine Museum was able to acquire nearly 2000 of his large format negatives in 2022; these images are predominantly maritime-themed. The lion’s share of his archive resides at the Rockland Historical Society. The two institutions have joined forces to create this exhibit of Moore’s maritime photographs. The show was guest-curated by Maine wooden boat expert Maynard Bray.