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ROBERT HAMILTON | Feeding the Fishes

ROBERT HAMILTON - Feeding the Fishes - Viewing Room - Dowling Walsh Viewing Room

Robert Hamilton (1917‑2004) graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1939. During World War II, he was a captain and P47 bomber pilot, flying one hundred missions and earning a Distinguished Flying Cross. Following the war, he returned to RISD to teach painting and drawing for thirty-four years. Artists Yvonne Jacquette, George Lloyd, David Estey, and Eric Hopkins are among his many students. Upon retiring in 1981, he moved full-time to Port Clyde, Maine, where he devoted the rest of his life to painting. A prolific artist, Hamilton produced over six hundred works, treating the image as a stage for depicting fantastical dreams, and invented narratives that brim with humor, pathos, and an unquenchable zest for life. His love of jazz—his son is the noted jazz saxophonist Scott Hamilton—is reflected in the syncopation of his colors and his invented imagery. “I knew my paintings had to be improvised, spontaneous, made up out of whole cloth, one thing leading to another, accidental, a series of metamorphoses, surprised arrivals, ” he wrote. His friend and neighbor, Andrew Wyeth, called Hamilton “a real painter.”  

In 1974, Hamilton was Artist in Residence at the American Academy in Rome. During the later decades of his career, he chose to exhibit his work primarily at his property in Port Clyde. In 1999, he had solo exhibitions at the Farnsworth Art Museum and the RISD Museum, and in 2011, at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art. His work is in the permanent collections of the Farnsworth Art Museum, the Portland Museum of Art, and the RISD Museum. 

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Thumb-Show Thumbnails
Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Pretty in Pink

Oil on board

16" x 16"

Framed: 23" x 23"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Pretty in Pink

Oil on board

16" x 16"

Framed: 23" x 23"

 

Inquire
Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Come Back Little Nemo, 2000

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Come Back Little Nemo, 2000

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

 

Inquire
Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Your Average Hero at the Stick, 1999

Oil on masonite

24" x 23-1/4"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Your Average Hero at the Stick, 1999

Oil on masonite

24" x 23-1/4"

 

Inquire
Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Fish Girl, 1995

Oil on masonite

24" x 23-3/4"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Fish Girl, 1995

Oil on masonite

24" x 23-3/4"

 

Inquire
Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Untitled (Red Carriage)

Oil on masonite

15-1/2" x 16"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Untitled (Red Carriage)

Oil on masonite

15-1/2" x 16"

 

Inquire
Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Fish Bomber II, 1994

Oil on masonite

15-1/2" x 15-1/2"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Fish Bomber II, 1994

Oil on masonite

15-1/2" x 15-1/2"

 

Inquire
Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Look Out the Sky is Falling, 1998

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Look Out the Sky is Falling, 1998

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

 

Inquire
Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Feeding the Fishes

Oil on board

24" x 24"

SOLD

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Feeding the Fishes

Oil on board

24" x 24"

SOLD

Inquire
Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Free

Oil on board

24" x 24"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Free

Oil on board

24" x 24"

 

Inquire
Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Nu, So It Doesn't Whistle, 1994

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

SOLD

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Nu, So It Doesn't Whistle, 1994

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

SOLD

Inquire
Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Untitled (Clown Car)

Oil on masonite

15-3/4" x 15-1/2"

SOLD

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Untitled (Clown Car)

Oil on masonite

15-3/4" x 15-1/2"

SOLD

 

Inquire
Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Skater

Oil on board

24" x 24"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Skater

Oil on board

24" x 24"

 

Inquire
Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Two Nice Little Persons, 1998

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Two Nice Little Persons, 1998

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

 

Inquire
Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Miss Euphoria and Adoring Dog, 1997

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Miss Euphoria and Adoring Dog, 1997

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

 

Inquire
Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Adolescence, 1997

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Adolescence, 1997

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

 

Inquire
Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Hands Up! Death, 1998

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Hands Up! Death, 1998

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

 

Inquire
Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Fortune Teller, 1997

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Fortune Teller, 1997

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

 

Inquire
Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

A Fish in Trouble, 1998

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

A Fish in Trouble, 1998

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

 

Inquire
Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Charlie Callas (Again), 1992

Oil on masonite

28-3/4" x 31"

SOLD

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Charlie Callas (Again), 1992

Oil on masonite

28-3/4" x 31"

SOLD

Inquire
Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Son of Pepin (the Short)

Oil on masonite

36" x 34"

SOLD

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Son of Pepin (the Short)

Oil on masonite

36" x 34"

SOLD

Inquire
Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Balls and Hand Puppets, 1998

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Balls and Hand Puppets, 1998

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

 

Inquire
Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Pretty in Pink

Oil on board

16" x 16"

Framed: 23" x 23"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Pretty in Pink

Oil on board

16" x 16"

Framed: 23" x 23"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Come Back Little Nemo, 2000

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Come Back Little Nemo, 2000

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Your Average Hero at the Stick, 1999

Oil on masonite

24" x 23-1/4"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Your Average Hero at the Stick, 1999

Oil on masonite

24" x 23-1/4"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Fish Girl, 1995

Oil on masonite

24" x 23-3/4"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Fish Girl, 1995

Oil on masonite

24" x 23-3/4"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Untitled (Red Carriage)

Oil on masonite

15-1/2" x 16"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Untitled (Red Carriage)

Oil on masonite

15-1/2" x 16"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Fish Bomber II, 1994

Oil on masonite

15-1/2" x 15-1/2"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Fish Bomber II, 1994

Oil on masonite

15-1/2" x 15-1/2"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Look Out the Sky is Falling, 1998

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Look Out the Sky is Falling, 1998

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Feeding the Fishes

Oil on board

24" x 24"

SOLD

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Feeding the Fishes

Oil on board

24" x 24"

SOLD

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Free

Oil on board

24" x 24"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Free

Oil on board

24" x 24"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Nu, So It Doesn't Whistle, 1994

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

SOLD

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Nu, So It Doesn't Whistle, 1994

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

SOLD

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Untitled (Clown Car)

Oil on masonite

15-3/4" x 15-1/2"

SOLD

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Untitled (Clown Car)

Oil on masonite

15-3/4" x 15-1/2"

SOLD

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Skater

Oil on board

24" x 24"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Skater

Oil on board

24" x 24"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Two Nice Little Persons, 1998

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Two Nice Little Persons, 1998

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Miss Euphoria and Adoring Dog, 1997

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Miss Euphoria and Adoring Dog, 1997

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Adolescence, 1997

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Adolescence, 1997

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Hands Up! Death, 1998

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Hands Up! Death, 1998

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Fortune Teller, 1997

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Fortune Teller, 1997

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

A Fish in Trouble, 1998

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

A Fish in Trouble, 1998

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Charlie Callas (Again), 1992

Oil on masonite

28-3/4" x 31"

SOLD

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Charlie Callas (Again), 1992

Oil on masonite

28-3/4" x 31"

SOLD

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Son of Pepin (the Short)

Oil on masonite

36" x 34"

SOLD

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Son of Pepin (the Short)

Oil on masonite

36" x 34"

SOLD

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Balls and Hand Puppets, 1998

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"

 

Robert Hamilton (1917-2004)

Balls and Hand Puppets, 1998

Oil on masonite

24" x 24"