Benson’s art featured in free State House exhibition

AUGUSTA –The work of internationally known artist M.J. Benson is being featured in the Maine Arts Commission’s Art In The Capitol program.
Benson’s art can be viewed as a self-guided tour 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Maine State House, corner of State and Capitol streets. The show is free and open to the public.

The paintings featured are from Benson’s most recent series of large- scale landscapesm she said. “My response to the tumultuous past few months of life.”
Originally from Massachusetts, Benson earned a BFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston/Tufts University, and an Ed.M. from Harvard University.
She has lived in Maine since 2006, and is a South Portland resident. “We had always dreamed of living in Maine, so when a job opportunity came up, we jumped at it. There is no better place to live and work, especially as an artist,” Benson said.
Benson said Maine’s landscapes have an impact on her background and career as an artist.
“The Maine landscape is my muse,” Benson said. “The effect of living on the coast, walking by the ocean, swimming in it, sailing on it, and experiencing the ever-changing relationships of the sky, earth and sea, factors in every painting I make.”
She discovered her love for painting at the Maine College of Art and Haystack Mountain School of Fine Craft, and she said she has experienced the genuine and significant support system from Maine’s artists and arts institutions.
Benson is a recipient of the Maine Arts Commission Project Grant for Artists for photography in 2007 and painting in 2021.
The Art in the Capitol program provides opportunities for Maine artists or an artist’s work whose theme is related to Maine to reach a wider audience.