PORTLAND – Juris K. Ubans passed away on Dec. 30, 2021 at Gosnell Memorial Hospice House. He was born in Riga, Latvia, the third son of Konrads Ubans, a prominent painter, and Elina Gailitis Ubans. His early childhood was spent during a time of terror, when the Soviet Union brutally occupied Latvia, then the Nazi regime, followed by the return of the Soviets. At this time, the family got separated and his mother and the three children fled to the West. After a very difficult year of wandering as refugees, they were settled in a camp in Germany run by the International Refugee Organization. In 1950, they were able to emigrate to the U.S. and settled in Syracuse, N.Y. After finishing his basic schooling there, he served for two years in the U.S. Army, then moved to California where he was able to earn a good salary as a draftsman and designer for architectural firms. Returning to New York, he graduated from Syracuse University with a BFA degree. In 1966 he moved with his wife Mara to Penn State, where he earned his MFA degree in 1968.

Juris started teaching in the Art Department of Gorham State Teachers College, which eventually became USM, and taught there until his retirement in 2009.

He taught painting and film and was instrumental in developing the curriculum toward the needs of the new and evolving institution. Concurrently, he was the Director of the Art Gallery until 1995. He developed it from an undertaking which had a budget of $50 during the first year to an influential and well-respected university gallery with a considerable collection of original works, especially photographs. He contributed greatly to the Cultural Affairs Committee, initiating film series and bringing renowned performers to the campus. He was a popular and influential teacher. Several of his former students became lifelong friends and his greatest support throughout his illness.

In the 1970s, he and like-minded friends established The Film Study Center, which for the first time brought foreign art films to Portland. He soon expanded his efforts statewide, serving for five years on the Maine Commission on the Art and Humanities. He organized state-wide, traveling film series augmented by community discussions led by scholars in the Humanities. He was a committee member or Board of Trustees member of numerous Maine museums and galleries. This was followed by involvement on a national level when he became a commissioner of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. He traveled throughout the country, accrediting schools and departments of art. In 1992 he was appointed by Senator George Mitchell to the American Folk Life Center of the Library of Congress and from 1994-96 he was Chairman of the Board of Trustees of that organization. He greatly enjoyed this experience in Washington D.C.

When Latvia was finally able to free itself from its subjugation by the Soviet Union in 1991, he immediately established ties with the Latvian National Museum and the Latvian Academy of Art. Having visited Latvia to meet with his father in 1973, he had seen the backwardness and limitations artists and scholars had been forced to live under and he eagerly joined international efforts to move academic standards to the level seen in Europe and the U.S. He became a member of the Board of Examiners of the Art Academy, he was an advisor on their curriculum, he taught there for two semesters as a Senior Fulbright Scholar and was named an Honorary Professor at the Academy. Returning to USM, he established an exchange program between the Academy and USM, giving a number of students an opportunity to experience a different culture and approach to art.

Even though art was at the center of his life, he was a many-faceted person. He was a highly rated chess player. Once he even beat Bengt Larsen, the Danish Grand Master during a simultaneous exhibition in Santa Monica. He was a good tennis player, advancing to the national Senior Games as a member of a doubles team. For many years he practiced Tai Chi in Portland. He was an avid collector of art in all genres and he has generously gifted numerous museums from his collection, including the Portland Museum of Art and Farnsworth.

His two brothers predeceased him. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Mara.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Conroy-Tully Walker Funeral Home, 172 State St., Portland. To view Juris memorial page, or to share an online condolence, please visit http://www.ConroyTullyWalker.com

In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made to the USM Foundation to augment the Juris Ubans Scholarship for painting, printmaking and photography.

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