The Urban Works

J.R. ‘Jim’ Hamil (1937–2022)

The Urban Works at Gilmore Bell (April–June 2025)
J.R. “Jim” Hamil was born in Hastings, Nebraska, in 1937. After living briefly in Lincoln, Nebraska; New York City; and St. Louis, Missouri, his family settled in Kansas City in 1951. Jim graduated from Shawnee Mission High School in 1954 and the University of Kansas in 1958. He then began a 15-year career as a commercial greeting card designer at Hallmark.

An accomplished watercolorist, Jim took the bold step of leaving behind a secure job to pursue a full-time career as a studio artist. He opened his first studio-gallery space just west of 45th and State Line in December 1972. Two home studios followed: the first in Prairie Village in 1978, and later in Overland Park in 1996.

Jim received national recognition with the 1975 publication of Farmland U.S.A. (Lowell Press), a collection of his rural watercolors. Yet it was Kansas City’s ever-changing urban landscape that became his most enduring subject. His more than thirty original paintings of the Country Club Plaza—starting with Plaza Christmas (1978) and Plaza Summer (1979)—led to the sale of thousands of affordable, limited-edition lithographs. His work brought Kansas City’s landmarks into homes across the region and earned him the title of “Best Local Artist” twice: in 1986 by The Squire and in 2003 by Kansas City Magazine.

Jim often reflected on how his paintings might outlast the buildings and places he captured. In Union Station at Night (c. 1989), the skyline features One Kansas City Place and Town Pavilion rising in the distance—structures that marked a new era of development. In contrast, earlier works like Southwest Boulevard (c. 1978) present a nostalgic cityscape devoid of the modern skyscrapers and landmarks such as the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts (2011) or the Bartle Hall Sky Stations (1994).

After nearly five decades of international travel, I’ve chosen to include a selection of Jim’s lesser-known urban works from abroad. Athens, Greece (c. 2001) is a luminous large-scale studio piece, highlighting the glowing lights beneath the historic Acropolis. Other pieces—Rome – 1966, Toledo, Spain (c. 1966), and Children on Wall (Mexico City) (c. 1987)—shift the focus from architecture to community, capturing the lives and stories of everyday people.

Whether through reflections on commercial development, the religious and cultural past, or the communities that shape our cities, Jim’s work offers a visual record of change—an enduring tribute to the urban environments we inhabit. I remain deeply grateful for my father’s dedication to preserving these places through his art.

Alex Hamil
Jim’s younger son and fellow watercolorist
alexpaints@gmail.com | www.jrhamil.com