In 1936, R.G. Hamilton (1916-2004) came down from Mynderse Academy, Seneca Falls, N.Y. to the Rhode Island School of Design, firmly resolved to be the next Norman Rockwell. He met a great teacher, John R. Frazier, whose basic premise was Art for Art's sake. That sounded good to him, and it still does. Frazier also taught him to paint like John Singer Sargent in winter and as much like Monet as possible in the summers.

Outside of a stint fighting the Nazi in a P47 fighter bomber - 100 missions, Captain, DFC - he has painted virtually every day, including Christmas, Easter, and the Fourth of July.

Frazier was his teacher, Max Beckmann was his master. When he saw his first Beckmann triptych in the late forties, it was incomprehensible. One year later, the same painting floored him. He understood that it was El Greco, Diego Velasquez ,and Piero, et al- only in a different form. He knew what he had to do with his tiny talent.

Hamilton's other heros were the jazz giants -Louis, Bix, Hawk, Pee Wee, Teagarden, etc. From them he knew his paintings had to be improvised,spontaneous, made up out of whole cloth, one thing leads to another, accidental, a series of metamorphoses,surprised arrivals. A painting without surprise soon fades into the woodwork.

In 1981 he retired from teaching drawing and painting at R.I.S.D. after 34 years - a wonderful job in spite of the infinitesimal pay, mostly because of the superior quality of
the students.With his wife, Nancy Dillon (a prize), he went to their summer cottage in Port Clyde, Maine. In a great field overlooking the harbor he has built two small museums. He paints all winter in his water front studio, then puts thirty or forty new pictures up in the galleries and invites people to take a look. Last free show on earth.