Maxwell Mays (August 13, 1918 – November 16, 2009) was an American painter known for his whimsical depictions of

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

Early life and education

Harry Maxwell Mays was born August 13, 1918, in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

to W. Clarke S. Mays Sr and Alice Hill Mays. He was one of three children; he had a brother, W. Clarke S. Mays, Jr., and a sister, Alice Mays Gray. The family was well-to-do, as his father had invented the metal pen clip that was the mainstay of the family business, the Mays Manufacturing Co. As a child, Mays attended Saturday morning art classes at the

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the ...

. Later, he attended RISD, graduating in 1941.

Career

After serving in a map-making unit in Brazil during World War II, Mays returned to Providence, where he began exhibiting his work at local galleries. His first one-man commercial show was at the Ferargil Gallery in New York in 1948. In the ensuing years he became notable for a number of highly successful art shows and magazine covers, including ''

Yankee Magazine ''Yankee'' is a bimonthly (once every two months) magazine about lifestyle, travel and culture in the New England region of the United States, based in Dublin, New Hampshire. The first issue appeared in September 1935. It has a paid circulation ...

'', featuring traditional New England scenes, and was a highly sought-after speaker and storyteller. As a successful businessman, he was treasurer of Mays Manufacturing Company, a family business until its sale in the mid-1980s. He was Past President and Director Emeritus of the Providence Art Club where the main gallery is named in his honor. He led the drive for a major restoration of the historic property in the late 1970s.

Death and afterward

Maxwell Mays died at his home in the

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section of

Coventry, Rhode Island Coventry is a town in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 35,688 at the 2020 census and is part of the . Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of . of it is land and of it ...

on November 16, 2009.

Awards and honors

Mays received honorary doctorates from Rhode Island College and

Johnson & Wales University Johnson & Wales University (JWU) is a private university with its main campus in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded as a business school in 1914 by Gertrude I. Johnson and Mary T. Wales, JWU enrolled 7,357 students across its campuses in the fa ...

. He was named an Honorary

Rhode Island Commodore Rhode Island Commodore, is Rhode Island's highest honor, and an honorary title bestowed upon individuals by approval of the Governor of Rhode Island. It is not a military rank, requires no duties, and carries with it no pay or other compensation. ...

in 1986 by governor Edward D. DiPrete. The Rhode Island Audubon Society serve as caretakers of the Maxwell Mays Wildlife Refuge on his farm estate in

References

20th-century American painters American male painters 21st-century American painters Painters from Rhode Island Folk artists Rhode Island School of Design alumni 1918 births 2009 deaths 20th-century American male artists {{US-painter-1910s-stub