Robert Sweeney’s paintings subtly blend the personal with the technical. His paintings, particularly the still lifes, refer not only to the history of painting and the technical aspects of art-making but with the inclusion of personal possessions, include references to the artist himself. His landscape paintings depict scenes from locations as varied as Italy, classic views of the Oxbow, in western Massachusetts to his wife, Barbara’s garden in their back yard.
Robert Sweeney teaches painting and drawing at Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts.
He received an MFA from Boston University School of Visual Arts, and has been a Professor and Chair of Fine Art at Amherst College for many years. Sweeney has received many honors and awards for his art, and has exhibited in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, including at the Mead Art Museum, Brattleboro Museum, Springfield Museum of Fine Art (Coll.), Rose Art Museum at Brandeis (Coll.), and the Holyoke Museum (Coll.). Commissioned work includes paintings for Sinclair International, Hotel Tudor, the Bank of Boston, and the Holyoke Museum.