Jim Hamilton was born in 1931 in Buffalo, New York. He attended George School, Newtown, Pennsylvania, (class of ‘49) and attended the Art Institute of Buffalo for one semester before enlisting in the United States Army in 1950. He saw combat in the Korean Conflict and received the Purple Heart for wounds received in the battle of Heartbreak Ridge.
Returning from the service he attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts from 1952 to 1955 and again from 1959 to 1960. In 1955 he was awarded the Louis S. Ware Memorial Scholarship by the Academy and the Sonnenschein Fund purchased one of his paintings for the Academy’s collection.
Mr. Hamilton continued to paint and make prints until the early 1970's while working in the advertising and commercial art fields. His work was exhibited locally in Philadelphia, including juried shows at the Pennsylvania Academy and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
In 1972, Mr. Hamilton entered the Philadelphia College of Art, (now the University of the Arts) to complete work on a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree which he was awarded in 1974.In 1978 he received a law degree (Juris Doctor) while working full time as the art director and direct mail marketing manager for TV Guide’ subscription department.
In 1978 Mr. Hamilton and his wife, Laura M. Rizio, Esq., started the law firm of Rizio and Hamilton, PC which specialized in personal injury law. For thirty-seven years, Mr. Hamilton was the chief litigator for the firm. Mr. Hamilton took a two year sabbatical 2003-2005 from his law practice and resumed printmaking and painting. Initially he concentrated on post impressionistic landscapes of the New Hope School of impressionism. Dissatisfied with the style, he moved away from impressionistic work and started experimenting with abstract expressionism, exploring cultural themes.
In 2008 he turned to color field paintings incorporating landscape elements and cubist interior and still life paintings. Currently he has turned to geometric abstractions.