For over 30 years Thomas Lyon Mills has received rare access to paint in the Italian catacombs and numerous European pagan sites. From there, beginning with his onsite work and the influence of his dreams, he returns to his studio to work on pieces often for years. He is represented by the Ricco/Maresca Gallery in New York. His exhibition record includes the Luise Ross Gallery and the Drawing Center in New York City, the Front Room Gallery in Brooklyn, the Rafius Fane Gallery in Boston, the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park in Lincoln, MA, The Boston Athenaeum, the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY; the Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR; and numerous venues in Europe including the American Academy in Rome and the residence of the United States Ambassador in Italy. He is Professor Emeritus of Drawing at the Rhode Island School of Design and has lectured and critiqued at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, returning each year to the Design Discovery Program; the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville; the Cranbrook Academy of Art, MI; Parsons School of Design, NY; Auburn University, AL; and both Temple University’s and Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute’s programs in Rome. In 1996 he received RISD’s John R. Frazier Award for Excellence in Teaching.