“An American painter, miniaturist and teacher born in New York City in 1860, William John Whittemore (1860-1955) had a painting career that would span an impressive sixty-five years” (1).
He was born to “Charles Whittemore (1826-1904)” and “Maria Frances Kimbell Whittemore (1826-1920)” (2).
“Whittemore received early training at the National Academy of Design under the auspices of William M. Hart and the academy's first instructor, Lemuel Wilmarth from 1882-1886.
Whittemore also studied under James Carroll Beckwith in 1885 at the Art Student's League” (1).
He married “Charlotte Helen Simpson Whittemore (1865-1955)” (2).
“Whittemore went abroad and continued his fine art training at the Academie Julian under the renowned teacher J. J. Benjamin Constant and Jules Joseph Le Febrve for 1888 and 1889.
Art organizations, clubs and membership for Whittemore include the National Academy, American Watercolor Society, New York Watercolor Club, American Society of Miniature Portraitists, California Society of Miniature Painters and the Salmagundi Club.
The artist began his career in a tight academic style that featured high realism but by the early nineteen hundreds, the artist embraced the looser and more spontaneous painting style of impressionism.
The artists exhibition history is vast with numerous medals, awards and prizes over his almost seven decade exhibition career. Some notable highlights include:
National Academy of Design, 1884 to 1949 (prize 1917)
Brooklyn Art Association, 1884 to 1886
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, 1185 to 1908, 1917, 1921
Boston Art Club, 1886 to 1908
Paris Salon, 1889; Paris Exposition, 1889 (medal)
Art Institute of Chicago, 1890 to 1928
Atlanta Exposition, 1895 (medal)
Charleston Exposition, 1902 (medal)
Corcoran Gallery, 1907 & 1910
American Watercolor Society, 1927 (prize)
Salmagundi Club, 1927 (prize)” (1)
Reference:
1.
Micaan’s Auctions. William Whittemore [internet]. [cited 2015 June 3]. Available from: http://www.askart.com/artist_bio/William_John_Whittemore/88726/William_John_Whittemore.aspx
2.
H, L. William J Whittemore [internet]. 2010 August 31 [cited 2015 June 3]. Available from: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=57945893