yarmouth bypass
By Alfred “Chip” Chadbourn (1921–1998)
Location: Merrill Memorial Library Gallery, 215 Main Street, Yarmouth
Yarmouth Bypass demonstrates Chadbourn's enduring interest in painting scenes of Maine, particularly his adopted hometown of Yarmouth. His characteristic use of varied brushstrokes is readily apparent in the drips and dabbles of the foreground snow and the wider passages of the middle ground. Although known throughout his career for his exuberant use of color, here Chadbourn explores the blues, whites, and purples of a winter day in Maine, punctuated by vibrant touches of red and yellow. His truncated composition provides viewers with an aerial view, looking down to the familiar historic homes that fill the Yarmouth streetscape.
About the Artist: Alfred “Chip” Chadbourn is one of Maine’s best-known painters and was a resident of Yarmouth for many years. Born in Turkey, he moved with his family at a young age to the Périgord region of France, where his father established an American school in a14th-century chateau. With French as his first language, he grew up in this historic setting where expat celebrities like Isadora Duncan became frequent house guests.
Chadbourn’s formal education was in Pasadena, CA, where he attended high school and the Chouinard Art Institute. He served in the Pacific during World War II, and following the war, took advantage of the GI Bill to study painting in Paris. The playwright and poet, Jean Cocteau, admired Chadbourn’s work and sponsored his first gallery show.
Eventually, he moved to New York and then Connecticut and became a member of the faculty at the Famous Artists School in Westport, CT. After moving to Maine, Chadbourn taught painting at the Southern Maine Vocational School. He moved Yarmouth, where he had a studio, taught classes, and raised his family. His wife Mary had a daycare business, which she ran from their barn and home.
Chadbourn continued to paint and teach in Maine until his death in 1998. He is the author of two books on painting techniques which were (and still are) popular with aspiring artists: A Direct Approach to Painting (1980) and Painting with a Fresh Eye (1987).
In 2015, Chadbourn was honored by the Yarmouth Arts Alliance and the Public Art Committee, who hosted exhibits of his artwork at the History Center, 317 Main Community Music Center, and Merrill Memorial Library. The celebration included multiple events throughout the Community, such as Plein Air Painting, a Community Collaborative portrait, walking tours of his neighborhood, and a lecture on his life and art by writer and art critic, Edgar Allen Beem, Dinners were held at a local restaurant, Gather, featuring Chadbourn's favorite recipes.
