William Palmer (1906-87) was the first member of the Hamilton College studio art faculty, and founding director of the Munson-Williams-Proctor School of Art.  He studied at the Art Students League with Boardman Robinson, Kenneth Hayes Miller, and Thomas Hart Benton, and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Fontainebleau where he learned the art of fresco painting.

Before coming to Clinton in 1941, Palmer achieved national recognition as a WPA/FAP muralist.  William Palmer: Drawing from Life features Depression- and WPA-era figure studies, landscapes, and mural studies from the William C. Palmer collection housed at the Emerson Gallery.

This exhibition is organized by Consulting Director Ian Berry and Associate Director and Curator Susanna White.