In Memory of David C. Driskell

Maine figured largely in Driskell’s life. He first came to Maine in 1953 to attend the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, and he remained an important member of the Skowhegan School community for more than six decades, serving on their faculty, board of governors, board of trustees, and advisory committee. He received the Skowhegan Lifetime Legacy Award in 2016. His student experience at Skowhegan led David and his wife Thelma to purchase their house in Falmouth, Maine, in 1961. His gardens at his homes in Maryland and in Maine were always an important part of his life and creative expression, and trees, especially the Maine pine tree, formed a central motif in his art. The High Museum in Atlanta and the Portland Museum of Art are organizing a major retrospective of his career. David Driskell: Icons of Nature and History is scheduled to open at the PMA on June 19, 2021.

We are honored to feature images of Driskell’s artwork in the Colby Museum and photographs from his visits to campus over the years and to share a link to Museum Director Sharon Corwin’s July 2017 interview with him.