| Maxwell Mays | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Harry Maxwell Mays |
| Born | August 13, 1918 Providence, Rhode Island |
| Died | November 16, 2009 (aged 91) Coventry, Rhode Island |
| Field | Painting |
| Training | Rhode Island School of Design |
Maxwell Mays (August 13, 1918-November 16, 2009) was an American painter known for his whimsical depictions of Rhode Island.
Contents |
Harry Maxwell Mays was born August 13, 1918 in Providence, Rhode Island to W. Clarke S. Mays Sr and Alice Hill Mays.[1] 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. Later, he attended RISD, graduating in 1941.
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, 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.
Maxwell Mays died at his home in the Greene section of Coventry, Rhode Island on November 16, 2009.[2]
Mays received honorary doctorates from Rhode Island College and Johnson & Wales University. He was named an Honorary Rhode Island Commodore in 1986 by governor Edward D. DiPrete.