Spotlight: Ann Craven
On view May 14 to September 14, 2025
This special pop-up installation highlights Ann Craven’s vibrant, emotive works that explore nature, memory, and repetition. Deeply connected to Maine, where she lives and works part of the year, Craven finds inspiration in its landscapes, skies, and ever-changing light. Her internationally celebrated work captures fleeting moments with bold color and expressive brushwork, offering a profound connection between observation, imagination, and the passage of time. Spotlight: Ann Craven is part of a statewide collaboration celebrating the artist’s impact and vision.
Ann Craven (United States, born 1967), Big Moon (Blue Night, Pink Glowing Trees, August, Cushing), 2021, 2021, oil on canvas, 84 1/4 x 72 1/4 x 1 3/8 inches. Portland Museum of Art, Maine. Museum purchase with support from a Manitou Fund grant, 2022.29. © Ann Craven. Image courtesy Petegorsky/Gipe Photo
Thursday, July 24
Lecture: Artists in Conversation – Ann Craven and Jay Stern
6:00 PM | Bernard Osher Foundation Auditorium | Registration Required
Free for PMA Members, $12 Public
Artists Ann Craven and Jay Stern come together for a conversation on their creative processes and inspirations. Craven, known for her vibrant, emotive paintings, explores themes of nature, memory, and repetition. Stern’s expressive oil paintings delve into memory, time, and transformation, offering a layered perspective on artistic expression.
Statewide spotlight to include
Farnsworth Art Museum - Ann Craven: Painted Time (2020-2024)
Bowdoin College Museum of Art - Painted Time: Moons (Laboratory)
Portland Museum of Art - Spotlight: Ann Craven
Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (offering two scholarships in her honor)
This program is presented in connection with Spotlight: Ann Craven, a special summer 2025 collaboration with museums across Maine celebrating her work thanks to the generous support of Rosemary, Kevin, and Hannah Rose McNeely, and the KHR McNeely Family Foundation.
