About the artist:

Donald O. Roberts passed away at his home in Athens, OH on Tuesday, March 17, 2015 at the age of 91. He was a nationally known lithographer, painter and sculptor as well as a highly-respected teacher during his long career. Donald was born in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire in 1923, where he graduated from Brewster Academy. He began studying at the Vesper George School of Art in Boston, Massachusetts in September of 1942. His studies were interrupted when he was inducted into the U.S. Army in March of 1943, serving in the European Theater in a medical unit until being discharged in January of 1946. In 1948, he graduated from Vesper George School of Art, where he taught through 1950. Donald was awarded a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island in 1952 and his Master of Fine Arts from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio in 1953. He was a professor of art in the School of Art at Ohio University from 1953 to 1991. He also played the major role in collecting prints for the College of Fine Arts, which eventually became the Kennedy Museum’s Contemporary Print Collection. From 2010 Donald served on the Kennedy Museum of Art’s Advisory Board. For over 50 years Donald spent the summer months at Rabbit Lodge, his home on Vinalhaven Island, Maine, where he continued to create art in his hillside studio. He became a treasured member of that community, a friend to both summer and year-round residents. He contributed to island art shows and was a supporter of Eldercare and the Land Trust. He dearly missed his time on Vinalhaven when health concerns prevented him being there during his last few years of life.