Robert Douglas Hunter was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1928. In 1949 he
graduated from the Vesper George School of Art. He studied with Henry
Hensche, and R.H. Ives Gammell (1950-1955). He taught at the Vesper George
School of Art from 1950-1983. He also taught at the Worcester Art Museum
from 1965 to 1975.
If there were a brick and mortar educational art institution called “The
Boston School” - the label applied rather loosely to artists who have
received training from master painters whose techniques are derived from
Gammell’s adaptation of French atelier instruction - then Robert Douglas
Hunter would surely be its Dean. Adding his own particular signature to the
Boston School emphasis on carefully planned compositions, accurate drawing,
and a delight in the ability of light and shadow to create atmosphere in
painting, he has personally taught well over forty students who are now
