Artists have been attracted for centuries to Maine’s rugged and romantic landscape. Today is no different, with museums, galleries, and studios exhibiting artists who continue to use their craft to depict Maine in all its forms and textures. Make the destinations on this list part of your itinerary the next time you’re looking to explore Maine’s arts scene.
Courthouse Gallery Fine Art
6 Court Street
Ellsworth, ME 04605
207-667-6611
Step into Courthouse Gallery Fine Art in Ellsworth and discover an array of contemporary fine art and sculpture beautifully displayed in a historic setting. Owners Karin and Michael Wilkes founded the gallery in 2006 with a mission to present high-quality artworks through curated exhibitions. Their stable includes established artists, whose work can be found in major collections nationally, emerging artists, and selected estates.
In 2012, the Wilkeses began publishing fine-art books under the imprint Marshall Wilkes to celebrate and document the work of Maine-inspired artists. Through their concurring schedule of rotating solo and group exhibitions, art books, artist’s talks, special events, and guest speakers, the gallery has become a destination where artists, collectors, and friends can gather to continue the conversation about Maine’s role in American art.
Courthouse Gallery is located in Ellsworth’s historic courthouse and registry of deeds. These spacious, 1830s Greek Revival buildings, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, offer a unique place to view fine art. The Wilkeses beautifully renovated both buildings, restoring the original red-birch hardwood floors, plaster walls, and 14-foot-high tin ceilings to their former grandeur. A large-scale sculpture park occupies the sweeping lawn out front.
Down East Gallery
146 Boothbay Road
Edgecomb, ME 04556
207-318-3282
Down East Gallery celebrates the creative life in Maine. Set on a 35-acre farm, the gallery exhibits art in the setting of a home, with more than 250 paintings and sculptures in an antique farmhouse and post & beam barn. Visitors are encouraged to walk the gardens and vineyard, or simply enjoy the vista of the Italy-inspired hillside vineyard, with more than 400 vines from eight grape varietals.
Artist-owner Brad Betts has been painting for over 25 years and is a Signature Member of the American Society of Marine Artists. His paintings have appeared in solo and group shows throughout New England, including the Mystic Seaport Gallery’s acclaimed International Marine Art Exhibition for over 10 years. He received the Maritime Gallery Yachting Award and the Award of Excellence at these juried exhibitions. In addition to paintings, Brad curates an ever-changing selection of sculpture, marine folk and contemporary art by Maine’s finest artists.
Brad offers gallery and vineyard tours, sharing stories of the farm’s history, local springs, viticulture, wine making, and the gallery’s latest venture, coffee roasting.
Dunn Studios
Sandra Leinonen Dunn is a Maine artist represented by galleries throughout the state, as well as by the Cortile Gallery, in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Her works are part of collections throughout the U.S. and abroad. Her working studio is located in Chelsea, Maine, where she lives and teaches art.
Ms. Dunn paints the Maine landscape and seascape, and has recently worked on a series of Maine lobstermen. She is also well-known for her traditional still-life compositions. Her work is representational, capturing subject matter with lyrical brushwork and intuitively mixed colors. Depending on the subject matter and source of inspiration, her pieces can look “old masterly” or convey the spontaneous brushstrokes of an Impressionist painting.
Sandra Dunn’s paintings capture a moment in time; a moment that she hopes will bring the viewer a small bit of heartfelt joy. “The only constant in life is change,” and yet, in a painting, the moment can be captured and revisited. The brilliant yellow of a daffodil petal or the sunlight on the surface of an ultramarine horizon can be frozen in time to be enjoyed over and over again — like the treasured memory of a Maine vacation.
Sandra Leinonen Dunn is represented by the following galleries:
Cortile Gallery
Provincetown, MA
Roux & Cyr International Fine Art Gallery
Portland, ME
Lupine Gallery
Monhegan Island, ME
Art Space Gallery
Rockland, ME
Full Fathom Five Gallery
Eastport, ME
Renaissance Gallery
Farmingdale, ME
Gallery at Somes Sound
1112 Main Street
Mt. Desert, ME 04660
207-610-4622
Established in 2010, the Gallery at Somes Sound is a fine-art gallery located on Mount Desert Island, overlooking beautiful Somes Sound, in the historic village of Somesville. The gallery represents contemporary artists of national standing, showcasing their fine art and sculptured furniture.
Tucked away on the “quiet side” of the island, this is a real treat for art enthusiasts and collectors alike. Over the years, the gallery has carefully selected its stable of accomplished artists, offering their work in diverse subject, style, and medium and enjoys working with clients who require assistance in choosing acquisitions for their home or business. Please visit our website to learn more about the Gallery at Somes Sound.
Gleason Fine Art, Inc.
31 Townsend Avenue
Boothbay Harbor, ME 04538
207-633-6849
In 1985, husband-and-wife team Dennis and Martha Gleason opened their first art gallery in a Boothbay Harbor space that was little more than the size of two closets. In 2008, their son Andrew joined the family business.
After three moves, the Gleasons found their dream space — an elegant gray-and-white farmhouse with sculpture gardens fronting Townsend Avenue. Today, it feels as though the gallery has always been in Boothbay Harbor.
Gleason Fine Art consistently ranks as one of Maine’s top art destinations. The gallery has been the winner two years in a row, 2020 and 2021, of Down East magazine’s Readers’ Choice Best Art Gallery in Maine award.
The gallery’s roster of contemporary painters and sculptors numbers more than two dozen of Maine’s most highly regarded artists, including Henry Isaacs, Andrea Peters, and Kevin Beers. The inventory of 19th- and 20th-century painters includes such notables as James Fitzgerald, Andrew Winter, and Stephen Etnier. Gleason Fine Art also offers art appraisal services and collection consulting.
From its inception, the Gleasons’ goal has been to offer the finest work by established artists inspired by the beauty of Maine. Equally important is the gallery’s atmosphere, where friendliness and approachability are as highly valued as professionalism.
Littlefield Gallery
145 Main Street
P.O. Box 601
Winter Harbor, ME 04693
207-963-6005
When Kelly and Jane Littlefield built their gallery in Winter Harbor 15 years ago, they were choosing a lifestyle as well as a location: the Schoodic Peninsula section of Acadia National Park, one of the most beautiful places on the East Coast. While it may seem like “you can’t get there from here,” Littlefield Gallery has become a destination point for art lovers from all over the country. It has twice been selected as Down East magazine’s Readers’ Choice Award: Best Gallery in Maine.
Representing several of Maine’s most distinguished sculptors and painters, including Joseph Haroutunian, Caren-Marie Michel, Roy Germon, Amy Pollien, Sarah Faragher, and Alec Richardson, the works transcend all passions — from Mary Prince’s and James Groleau’s paper collage to Scott Baltz’s James Linehan’s stylized landscapes. Sculpture is an integral part of the gallery, surrounded outdoors and in by pieces created by sculptors including Mark Herrington, Hugh Lassen, Don Best, Peter Dransfield, John Stass, and Dan Miller.
The gallery is open daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., from May 26 to October 10, and by appointment.
Maine Art Hill
14 Western Avenue
Kennebunk, ME 04043
207-967-2803
Maine Art Hill is a unique art destination. We are a premier gallery celebrating over 30 years in business. We welcome you to park and explore all seven galleries in three adjacent buildings.
From oils, acrylics, pastels, watercolors, encaustics, and photography to blown glass, mixed media, and metal sculpture, including the Wind Sculptures by Lyman Whitaker™, we have something for every art lover. We offer an array of shows and events throughout the seasons.
The Willard Gallery
Willard Square
South Portland, ME 04106
@thewillardgallery
The Willard Gallery is a by-appointment gallery located in a garden cottage in South Portland’s Willard Square. Making the most of its small footprint, The Willard Gallery can create a tailored viewing experience by inviting collectors to share what works or styles they’re interested in seeing and then preparing the space accordingly for their appointment. Works from several Maine and New England–based artists are on view alongside those sourced from all parts of the U.S. and the United Kingdom.
Make an appointment to visit the gallery (on your way to Scratch Baking Co. or Portland Head Light) or subscribe to the gallery newsletter to receive an invitation to the summer garden parties.