Gloucester and the Friendly Sea: An Early 20th-Century Art Educator’s Mural as a Pedagogical Hinge CHRISTINA HANAWALT The Pennsylvania State University In this article, I investigate the mural-making experience of Mabel Spofford, an early 20th-century art educator from Massachusetts. Spofford designed and created a mural titled Gloucester and the Friendly Sea while attending a Pennsylvania State University Summer Arts Institute course with Viktor Lowenfeld in 1947. By placing archival documents, such as the written mural plan, in relation to relevant historical, social, and cultural contexts, a story emerges about the personal and social motivations of Spofford as an art educator whose life was inextricably intertwined with place. The story I tell is of a woman who had a deep connection to the local and whose experience in the mural course served as a pivot point (Ellsworth, 2005) in her own becoming—one which brought her lifelong experiences of place into relation, allowing her to see the known anew. Correspondence regarding this article may be sent to the author at christinahanawalt@yahoo.com. Color versions of one or more of the figures in the article can be found online at www.tandfonline.com/usae. Copyright 2016 by the National Art Education Association Studies in Art Education: A Journal of Issues and Research 2016, 57(3), 221–237 DOI: 10.1080/00393541.2016.1176782 Studies in Art Education / Volume 57, No. 3 221 “When places of learning are understood as relational, pedagogical openings are created that may be critical to our roles as art educators.”