Arlene Thomson Art Auction, Sale to Benefit Honors College

ORONO — An art auction and sale by the estate of late artist and former University of Maine designer and illustrator Arlene Thomson is being held Friday, May 20 and Saturday May 21 to benefit the UMaine Honors College.

Scheduled on Friday, from 5-8 p.m. are a first look, an art sale, a reception, a silent auction, and a live auction. Scheduled on Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. is an art sale. The events will be at the Buchanan Alumni House on the UMaine campus and are supported by the University of Maine Foundation.

Thomson, the recipient of the University of Maine’s 2007 Vincent A. Hartgen Award, bestowed by the university’s Patrons of the Arts for outstanding contributions to the advancement of the arts at UMaine, died last fall, two days short of her 98th birthday.
Beginning in the early 1960s, she worked as an artist, graphic designer and illustrator for the UMaine Department of Public Affairs, Central Services and University Press, retiring in 1985, but continuing on an as-needed basis until 1994.

Thomson’s journal entries and hundreds of pen and ink drawings she made in London were exhibited at UMaine, and were included in her book, “Discovering Elizabethan London.”

Additional information is available from Barbara Ouellette at (207) 581-3264.

Contact: Barbara Ouellette, (207) 581-3264