When she was a teenager, Norma Boom carried a slip of paper in her wallet with a quotation by Berthold Auerbach: “Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”

Looking back, it seems inevitable that Norma’s passion for music and theater would come to encompass visual art. In 1955, she met and married John Marin Jr., and the couple oversaw the estate of John’s father, legendary Maine painter John Marin. Fifty years ago this summer, she began what would become a significant and deeply personal collection of contemporary art.

More than 70 pieces from her collection are on view at the University of Maine Museum of Art in Bangor through July 2. The paintings, sculptures and prints in “The Long View” were created by artists with Maine ties who were born in the 20th century. Some are relatively obscure, and others have an international reputation, but that had no bearing on Norma Marin’s selections.

“I really don’t think an artist has to be very well-known,” she said by phone from New York. “I think you just have to like the work.”

It took Marin a little while to figure out what she liked. She immersed herself in the art world, visiting museums and galleries whenever she could. She sought advice from artists and curators. She knew what was hot – and what was not – but ultimately, a work needed to transcend all that to make it into her collection.

“It was a wonderful expression of themselves and I came to it and it spoke to me … I got this wonderful reaction,” she said. “I thought what they had to say did something for me, and the monetary price of the work was so much less than what I got out of it personally. I wanted to live with that work.”

In 1977, the Marins started a gallery, Cape Split Place, at the Addison home where the elder John Marin created some of his most well-known paintings. It became a haven for art lovers, and Norma had the opportunity to know many of the artists who showed there, including Lois Dodd, Neil Welliver, William Keinbusch and Bernard “Blackie” Langlais, all of whom are featured in the UMaine show.

“I didn’t realize so many artists were summering in Maine,” Marin said. “Also, because of Vincent Hartgen [who founded the University of Maine Museum of Art], and how he was tireless in trying to get works of art around for people to see and promote interest in art, all of that helped to make me take a closer look.”

Marin, who turns 75 this month, splits her time between Addison and New York, and she continues to frequent galleries wherever she goes. She’s also a member at each of Maine’s major art museums. When she returns to the state this summer, she plans to see the Katherine Bradford show at Aucocisco Gallery in Portland (she collects Bradford’s work), and she also plans to spend some time with her own collection in Bangor.

She advises aspiring collectors to join their local art museum. That way, they can spend plenty of time with each exhibition, learn more about artists and their work, and discover their own passion for art.

“Haunt the art museums. Haunt the galleries,” she said. “Talk to people, especially people who run galleries. They’re there to make you more aware of the work.”

Kristen Andresen can be reached at 990-8287 and kandresen@bangordailynews.net.