Artist, poet, and Newport gallery owner Matose is a loyal URI alumnus who has made provisions in his estate plans to bequeath a generous gift to the University’s art department.

Matose says that all the professors with whom he came into contact during his years at URI were extremely supportive, kind, and compassionate toward students. This was especially true of the professors teaching evening classes, who showed great sensitivity to the needs of their students, almost all of whom held day jobs.

Matose draws every day in order to perfect his craft, working in ink and acrylic media. His inspiration comes from impulse and from the people and scenes he sees every day. The drawing you see here was created from an aerial photo of URI’s campus.