About Maxwell Mays:

In a career that spanned more than six decades, Mays painted nearly every inch of Rhode Island, from the bustling docks of Newport Harbor to the small towns and villages of South County to the grand Federal Style mansions of Providence's Benefit Street.

At the same time, Mays happily acknowledged that he wasn't much interested in modern life. Instead, he was fascinated by history -- particularly the history of his native New England -- often spending weeks digging up information on everything from geography and architecture to genealogy and politics before embarking on one of his detail-filled paintings.