James Linehan
Professor of Art, Department of Art

When Professor James Linehan arrived in Orono in the Fall of 1983, he had just finished teaching for five long years at tiny, isolated, St. Andrews College in rural North Carolina. At his job interview Mike Lewis, Susan Groce and others had taken great pains to point out the rural location, the modest art facilities, and the limited cultural opportunities in Orono.   Jim just laughed… “compared to Gibson, North Carolina, this place is like Paris.” Oddly, he still thinks that…”

From the beginning, Orono agreed with Jim. He has taught several generations of art students in a wide variety of painting and drawing courses, introducing new topics on a regular basis, always searching for new ways to teach both traditional craft, while encouraging open exploration of all types of paints in all manner of subjects.

Jim’s painting career has been highly successful, with works included in over 120 group shows, and 20 solo exhibits. The solos include three shows in New York City, one in Boston, one in Tokyo, and two in Sapporo, Japan. His paintings are included in 30 public and corporate collections, including the Portland Museum of Art, the Farnsworth Museum, L.L. Bean, MBNA and UNUM. Jim also executed 20 public murals, including fifteen for the Maine Arts Commission Percent for Art Project. Many of our UMaine students first encountered contemporary art in the hallway of their hometown school with one of Jim’s murals.

Jim was tenured in 1988, and promoted to full professor in 1993. From 1999-2006 Jim chaired the Department of Art, collaborating on the fundraising and supervising the $6 million renovation of historic Lord Hall. Now safely back to teaching full-time, Jim works hard every day to find ways to inspire the next generation of Maine artists. We congratulate and thank you, Jim, for your exemplary 25 years of service to the University of Maine.