LEWISTON – Philip C. Beam, 95, of Lewiston, died Dec. 25, at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center. He was the Henry Johnson Professor of Art and Archaeology Emeritus at Bowdoin College and a leading authority on the life and works of Winslow Homer

He was born Oct. 7, 1910, in Dallas, Texas, the son of Millard Fillmore and Bettye Avera Beam. He was awarded A.B., A.M. and Ph.D. degrees at Harvard University and received the certificate of the Courtauld Institute from the University of London.

He joined the Bowdoin faculty in 1936 as curator of the art collections and instructor in the department of art and later as director of the Walker Art Museum, until 1964. He was appointed professor of art in 1949 and for many years chaired the art department before his retirement as a faculty member in 1982. He also taught at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., in the summers of 1960 and 1970, the University of Vermont in Burlington in the summers of 1967 and 1969, and the Elderhostel Program on the Bowdoin campus during the summers of 1983 and 1984.

He was the author of many books and articles on art. In addition to his award-winning book “Winslow Homer at Prout’s Neck,” upon which the widely acclaimed television documentary “Winslow Homer in Maine” was based, he wrote “The Language of Art” (1958), “The Art of John Sloan” (1962), “Winslow Homer in Maine” (1968), “Winslow Homer’s Magazine Engravings” (1979), “Winslow Homer’s Watercolors” (1983) and the section on American art in “The Visual Dictionary of Art.” He served as editorial consultant for “The World of Winslow Homer” and “The World of John Singleton Copley” published by Time-Life Art Library.

He served as chairman of the Brunswick Boy Scout Court of Honor, as campaign chairman and a member of the board of directors of the Brunswick Area United Fund, and as vestryman and treasurer for St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Brunswick.

He was married Aug. 8, 1939, to the former Frances Merriman of Topsham, who survives. He is also survived by son, Christopher Beam and his wife, Joline, of Lewiston; daughter, Rebecca Beam of Exeter, N.H.; and grandsons David Beam and his wife, Clare, of Arlington, Va., Michael Beam of Somerville, Mass., and Gregory Beam of Chicago.

He was predeceased by his brother, Avera Grady Beam.