October 30, 2009 Maine hosts works of great American artist Play video

(NECN: Marnie MacLean, Falmouth, Maine) - Tucked among the tall pines in Falmouth, Maine one of America's foremost artists and art scholars has quietly worked for nearly fifty years.

David Driskell first noticed Maine when he was awarded a scholarship to study at the Skowhegan school of painting and sculpture, a place where he met great artists like robert indiana and alex katz.

"I said all famous artists go to maine in the summer and they have homes, studios. Some day we have to have a home in Maine," Driskell said.

Just 8 years later he and his wife got that home and Maine would become a summer retreat for Driskell as his career as an artist, and art historian grew.

As a painter, his work is influenced by african art and sculpture and modernist aesthetics.

"My work evolved from realistic style to semi-abstraction, the color was always the dominant characteristic of my work," Driskell said.

Driskell never had the luxury of focusing solely on his painting. While still in college, a professor told him he had to study art history, too, because someone needed to expand the definition of American art, to include the work of African-American, Latina, Asian and Native American artists.

"We expanded the field to be more inclusive, less exclusive and we're all the richer for it," Driskell said.

Despite his strong connections to Maine, he rarely exhibited his work here -- one show last summer and a new one just opened at Portland

It's called evolution, showcasing 80 prints of Driskell's work over the last 50 years. At his studio he showed us how he makes some of his hand painted prints -- a laborious process, but one that carries with it as much artistry as an original panting.

"I like to have some overlapping and some improvising, almost like a musician does, don't play the same way every time, like jazz," Driskell said.

Driskell is a rarity in the art world, an artist, a renowned art scholar, and a curator. He has helped both Bill Cosby and Oprah Winfrey build their art collections.

It has been a life filled with family, education, travel and of course art. And now, people in New England have the chance to see that journey through the eyes of a great American artist.