Born in Manakoto, Kansas in 1922, Robert began his artistic endeavors as an apprentice and assistant to mural artist John Steuart Curry. In 1962, after teaching throughout the mid-west, Hodgell moved to St. Petersburg to become a professor at Florida Presbyterian- now Eckerd College. In 1976, Hodgell won an Honorable Mention at the Festival of States show at the Arts Center. In 1977, he left his position at Eckerd to pursue art as a full-time career. After a full and varied career, he passed away in 2000 after battling colon cancer. Some Arts Center highlights include printmaking demos that Robert gave at the Art Club decades ago, and his involvement in the Arts Center’s first exhibition at the new space in 1971. In 2000, Eric Lang Peterson curated a retrospective of Robert’s work.