East Boothbay artist Andrea Peters has quietly joined the ranks of Maine’s most recognized and respected artists. Peters’ paintings are in dozens of collections, both private and public. Museum and gallery directors own her paintings, as do well-known artists, such as Jamie Wyeth and Henry Isaacs.
Peters’ most recent feather in her cap was a complete surprise to her. One day last month she received a book mailed to her by the Bates College Museum of Art: “An Adventurous Spirit: The Jane Costello Wellehan Collection.” Opening the book, Peters saw that it announced Jane Wellehan’s donation of her entire collection of art, most of it by contemporary Maine artists, to Wellehan’s alma mater, Bates College, in Lewiston. And there on page 89 was Peters’ sumptuous oil, titled “Spring Spectacle — Monhegan,” painted in 2005.
“Spring Spectacle” blazes with color: red tulips command the foreground, while yellow and white tulips are scattered among all manner of lush vegetation; a fiery stand of forsythia announces that the season is indeed spring. A group of Peters’ famously scraggly spruce trees reaches up to the sky, where puffy white clouds edged in yellow float by. It’s a powerful painting, a joyous declaration that spring is here in Maine.
The Wellehan collection is the largest gift of art Bates College has ever received. Wellehan, a member of the large shoe manufacturing and selling family, collected broadly but astutely. Her gift also includes examples by Alan Bray, Lois Dodd, Lonnie Sisson, Dahlov Ipcar and many more. Even in such grand company, Peters’ exuberant “Spring Spectacle” holds its own.
The show accompanying the publication of “An Adventurous Spirit” has ended, but the college is committed to including examples from the Wellehan collection whenever possible. The book is available through the Bates College Museum of Art bookstore.
For more information on Peters and to see her paintings, visit her gallery, Gleason Fine Art, 31 Townsend Ave., Boothbay Harbor, or call the gallery at 207-633-6849 or email info@gleasonfineart.com. To see all of her paintings, visit gleasonfineart.com. Spring hours at Gleason Fine Art are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
Join award-winning painter Terri Brooks for “Figures in Pastels,” a workshop designed for experienced pastel artists. Working from a live, costumed model, participants will refine their ability to capture the human form using layered pastel techniques. The class will focus on essential life-drawing skills, using light and shadow to define facial structure and form through […]
The Deer Isle Artists Association announces the March Artist-in-Residence Program on March 4 with artist David McBeth. McBeth is a potter, working primarily with porcelain that is high-fired and ready for the dining table. Additionally, he is a knitter, whose preferred material is wool yarn. A true renaissance man, lately McBeth is also a writer, […]
Established in 2010, The Maine Museum of Photographic Arts is the only museum in Maine dedicated exclusively to photography. Dear Friends of the Maine Museum of Photographic Arts, What a transformative year 2024 has been for MMPA. As we reflect on the past twelve months, we’re struck by the extraordinary level of artistry, scholarship and […]
The Center for Maine Contemporary Art (CMCA) presents its winter season with the unveiling of two new thought-provoking exhibitions and held an opening reception on Feb. 1. New exhibitions that opened Feb. 1: “The Sun, Trying to Disappear” is a show that speaks of entanglement. The images in this exhibition flutter between icons and mistrusted […]
Crescendo is about reaching new heights, riding the waves of life, climbing peaks, looking up to the zenith, witnessing the culmination of a project, peering over the crest, feeling the surge of emotions. 2025 is a 9 year in numerology, marked by a crescendo of power and experience, acclimation and completion, and new beginnings. Artists […]
Joseph Fiore (1925-2008) was a widely respected artist and active member of the Maine Art Gallery during the 1960s and ‘70s. In celebration of the 100th year of his birth, the gallery is partnering with Maine Farmland Trust (MFT) on an exclusive and overdue major retrospective, “Fiore at 100: Maine Observed.” The show runs June […]
The Midcoast Downeast Chapter of the Union of Maine Visual Artists, in collaboration with Waterfall Arts and Dark Sky Maine presented “Dark Skies: Artwork Honoring Dark Nights in Maine,” which ran from Jan. 17 to Feb. 28 at Waterfall Arts in Belfast. Not only did the exhibit gather a sizable crowd of over 280 people […]
In March the Roux & Cyr International Fine Art Gallery will host its first abstract contemporary artist as its featured artist of the month. Jeanne Maguire, a Maine-based abstract artist, will be the First Friday artist on March 7. Maguire’s show is titled “Feminine Archetypes” and her work is vibrant and expressive, capturing the emotion […]
Youth Art Month is right around the corner. Show your support and celebrate the young artists in this year’s youth show, “Healing Through Color,” on view March 6 to 9. Students from all instructional levels will be featured in the show, which emphasizes the importance of visual arts, creative expression, and access to the arts […]
Receive news and information about Maine artists and events delivered right to your inbox.
