Featured Artist, painter and sculptor R. Douglass Rice will present works from a series of oil paintings he calls "James Merrill House Fellows Sitting in my Leather Chair". The James Merrill House in Stonington, CT, sponsors 8-10 writers in residence each year and Rice, through his wife's work with the organization, considers himself lucky to have had access to most of them. Rice shares that much of the pleasure of this endeavor derives from conversations he has had with the sitters about their lives and work.

Mr. Rice currently has sixteen sculptures on display in parks, estates, and museums throughout New England, including one on the front lawn of the former train station, which houses the Artists' Cooperative Gallery of Westerly.

Rice devotes equal time to his sculptures and paintings, his painting style being influenced by the famous portraitist, Alice Neal.

Through his sculpture, Standing With Ukraine, Rice pays homage to the plight of Ukrainians defending their country against the war waged against it by Russia. Such support is essential if the world is to further the cause of peace.