ROCKLAND — The Center for Maine Contemporary Art will present the groundbreaking exhibition Linden Frederick: Night Stories, from August 19 through November 5, 2017. The exhibition pairs 15 newly created paintings by the noted realist painter with 15 new works of fiction by some of America's most acclaimed writers.

Fifteen celebrated American fiction writers each agreed to select one painting especially created by Frederick as inspiration and then, over the following months, write a unique story inspired by it.

The exhibition, and the accompanying book, Night Stories: Fifteen Paintings and the Stories They Inspired, have been eight years in the making, according to a news release. When artist Linden Frederick (b. 1953) realized a growing number of his collectors were novelists and screenwriters, he wondered what would happen if the writer-illustrator relationship were reversed: the painting first, then the writing. The result is Night Stories.

The collaborating writers include:

Pulitzer Price winner Anthony Doerr (All the Light We Cannot See), National Book Award-finalist Andre Dubus III (House of Sand and Fog), National Book Award-winner Louise Erdrich (The Round House), National Book Award-finalist Joshua Ferris (Then We Came to the End), Internationally bestselling author Tess Gerritsen (Rizzoli & Isles series,) Academy Award-nominee Lawrence Kasdan (Raiders of the Lost Ark), Kirkus Prize-winner Lily King (Euphoria),

Edgar Award-winner Dennis Lehane (Mystic River), Newberry Medal-winner Lois Lowry (The Giver), PEN/Faulkner Award-winner Ann Patchett (Bel Canto), New York Times bestselling author Luanne Rice (Crazy in Love), Pulitzer Prize-winner Richard Russo (Empire Falls), Pulitzer Prize-winner Elizabeth Strout (Olive Kitteridge), Academy Award-winner Ted Tally (The Silence of the Lambs), PEN USA Award-winner Daniel Woodrell (Winter's Bone).

A native of Amsterdam, New York, Linden Frederick's paintings are celebrated for their evocative light and atmosphere. Compared favorably to Edward Hopper's American scene paintings, Frederick's contemporary works suggest the human presence without depicting it, allowing the viewer to complete the narrative.

Frederick has lived and worked in Belfast, Maine since 1989. He has had more than twenty solo exhibitions of his work throughout the United States, including the exhibition You Are Here, held at CMCA in Rockport, in 2010. Linden Frederick is represented by Forum Gallery, New York.

CMCA, founded in 1952, is a contemporary arts institution presenting year-round exhibitions, engaging events, and educational programs for all ages. Location: 21 Winter Street, Rockland, Maine. Hours: June through October, Monday - Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, 12 to 5 p.m.; November through May, Wednesday - Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, 12 to 5 p.m.; closed Federal holidays.

Admission $8; Seniors (65+) and students with ID $6; children under 18 free; CMCA members free.

For more information, call 207-701-5005 or visit cmcanow.org.