A Luminist of the New England Coast Charles Webster Hawthorne, born in Lodi, Illinois, on January 8th, 1872, stands as a truly pivotal figure in American art—a beacon illuminating the transition and burgeoning national identity of the early 20th century. While his formative years unfolded amidst the rolling fields of inland America, it was the rugged, windswept coastline of Maine—to which his parents relocated shortly after his birth—that irrevocably shaped his artistic vision. This profound connection to the sea, instilled through childhood experiences with his father’s profession as a ship…