The Arts in the Capitol program features work throughout the Capitol Complex and offers Maine artists an additional venue for their work. It is designed to expand the audience for Maine artists or artists working in Maine on Maine-based themes.
All exhibits are free and open to the public. Exhibitions are self-guided and may be viewed during the building hours where the exhibition is on display.
Building hours:
| Maine Arts Commission Office: | Capitol and Burton M. Cross Buildings: |
| 8:30am - 4:30pm, Mon - Fri | 8:00am - 5:00pm, Mon - Fri |
Arts in the Capitol Guidelines
For more information about Arts in the Capitol, contact Danielle Moriarty, Program Director at vog.eniam@ytrairom.elleinad
Camden native multidisciplinary artist Julie Crane utilizes printmaking as a primary visual map. Although schooled in ceramic arts and sculpture, she began printmaking while in Santa Fe, New Mexico in the mid-1980s after graduating from Maine College of Art & Design. Access to two printmaking establishments over the course of 10 years provided a rich supply of techniques and opportunity to explore. Ongoing migrations to the Southwest have continued to avail time and studio access for working on the intaglio prints. This selection of works exemplifies the various techniques that have developed over the span of 38 years.
The scale of the wood cuts requires scheduling access to a largescale press offsite from Crane’s home studio in Cushing. “Hibernating Home” was printed at the University of Maine at Orono; “Air Above Portland” was printed at Pickwick Press in Portland; “Rockport Harbor” was printed at Zea Mays in Florence, MA as were the four mono prints.
Recent collaborations with scientists from Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution have influenced visual information. The intaglio prints depict microscopic organisms, collectively called plankton, along with some of the visible and known creatures that inhabit our Maine waters. The interconnection of the least to the greatest is a theme in these works.
In early 2025, Crane began working with Herring Gut Coastal Science Center in Port Clyde to explore the anadromous Atlantic Sturgeon. The “Sturgeon Bride” monoprint and the intaglio print “Toddlers” were part of that investigation. A grant from the Gulf of Maine Research Institute enabled a joint project with an eighth-grade science class from St. George to produce a 12-foot Sturgeon sculpture, currently on display at the Herring Gut Center.
Phoebe Bly grew up in Maine during the 1970s and 1980s, raised by parents involved in the “back to the land” movement inspired by Helen and Scott Nearing. She spent her childhood in a small, hand-built cabin in the woods without electricity or plumbing, where her family practiced organic farming and experimented with wind power. This unconventional upbringing fostered a deep appreciation for the natural world and continues to shape her perspective and artistic sensibility.Bly studied photography at the Portland School of Art and the Maine Photo Workshops, working extensively in a black-and-white darkroom for several years. Following a move to Islesboro, she transitioned to oil painting, quickly recognizing it as the medium through which she could fully express herself. Largely self-taught, Bly embraces an intuitive and independent approach to her practice, one that remains unconstrained by formal training or shifting artistic trends. Guided by a belief in sincerity and emotional depth, echoing Andrew Wyeth’s assertion “one’s art goes as far and as deep as one’s love goes,” her work is grounded in genuine feeling and a lifelong connection to place.
The exhibition is free and open to everyone Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Maine State House in Augusta.
Come see Maine through an artist’s eyes—you might just fall in love all over again
Maine Veterans Art Exhibition
Burton M. Cross Building | November 1, 2025 - February, 2026
The Maine Arts Commission proudly presents the 2025 Maine Veterans Art Exhibition, a heartfelt tribute to the artistic talents and personal experiences of Maine's Veterans. This year’s exhibition features 63 works by 36 individual artists, offering a reflection of creativity, service, and resilience.
This exhibition plays a significant role in raising visibility, understanding, and support of arts and health services for our Veterans. Given the special hardships and challenges members of the military face, the arts play an integral role in advancing health and wellbeing.
This exhibition was made possible through the collaboration of the Maine Arts Commission, Maine Bureau of Veterans' Services, Togus VA Medical Center, The Bangor & Lewiston Veteran Centers, and the Quilts of Valor Foundation.
image: Soaking In The Celebration 2025, photograph, Nicole Rezentes, Army
