Maxwell Mays has died

“When I am holding a brush I own the world. Little by little I find I can invite you in too.” – Maxwell Mays

Maxwell Mays of Coventry, Rhode Island, beloved for his quaint olden days portraits of Rhode Island, died today. He was born in the Ocean State in 1918 and studied at Rhode Island School of Design. A retrospective at the Providence Art Club in September showcased his trademark charming folksy paintings of Main Street USA intersections and bird’s-eye historical panoramas of Rhode Island towns in which he seemed to have carefully noted every leaf, every brick.

Pictured above: Maxwell Mays's 1989 "Pawtuxet Village" and a 2004 profile of Mays from NBC channel 10 in Providence.