James M. O’Brien (American, b.1989) is an accomplished artist who has spent most of his life in the rural parts of New Hampshire. Raised among the Catskills, Adirondacks, and White Mountains, he developed an early admiration for the Hudson Valley scenery and was inspired by 18th and 19th-century British and American romantic landscape painters.
O’Brien began his professional career in video editing and audio recording before shifting to visual arts. His early success led him to study at the New Hampshire Institute of Art in 2007, where he graduated summa cum laude, focusing on American landscape painting.
In 2012, he worked at the Currier Museum of Art, where he catalogued early 20th-century photographs and assisted in various projects, including restoring a 1920s ceiling fresco at the New Hampshire Masonic Lodge. He also learned traditional framing and studied antiquities.
O’Brien has exhibited his paintings across New England and internationally, with works in private collections in Europe, the Middle East, and Southern Asia. He briefly joined the Ingbretson Atelier to study within the Boston School Tradition and later earned an MFA in Visual Arts from the New Hampshire Institute of Art in 2017. He was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2018 for his work with at-risk youth and his educational installation at the Hooksett Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Expanding beyond traditional painting, O’Brien began creating site-specific installations incorporating electronics and specialty lighting. He teaches and lectures on American Romantic Landscape Painting and continues to exhibit his work. His early works are on permanent display at the Rochester Museum of Fine Arts, and he has been recognized in various exhibitions, including “Best in Show” at the Hampton Fall Art Fair in 2019.
O’Brien, a father, collaborates with his children on “Father Daughter Doodles” and “Father Son Sketches,” gaining popularity for these playful works. He continues to mentor at-risk youth and represented the Mayhew Program in a PBS documentary. From 2009-2020, he led visual arts programming at Mayhew, inspiring young men during the pandemic.
Currently residing in central New Hampshire, O’Brien continues his personal artwork and pursues larger goals. He enjoys fatherhood, studying natural sciences, and exploring the local wildlife and landscapes.