August Will (1834–1910) was a German-American artist who spent the majority of his life living in
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.[Weimar
Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...]
, Germany and immigrated to the New York City and New Jersey region when he was a young man. Although he always signed his paintings simply with the name, August Will, his full birth name was John M. August Will.
Will settled in Jersey City, where he remained until his death.
Little is known about Will's early life. However, it is known that Will enjoyed success as a well-known local artist who created illustrations for the
Century Company in New York City as well as one who instructed students in his Jersey City studio.
Working with the mediums of pen and ink, watercolors, and pastels, Will produced a large body work that consisted of portraits, landscapes, marine scenes, and city scapes. His work captured the unique era and epoch of his time and location.
The single largest collection of his works—more than 350 pieces—was in the permanent collection of the
Jersey City Museum
The Jersey City Museum was a municipal art museum in Jersey City, New Jersey. The establishment opened in 1901 and was housed in the main branch of the Jersey City Public Library. It relocated to a new building in 2001, but due to financial dif ...
in Jersey City, New Jersey until 2018, when the entire body of his work held by that museum was donated to the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University, the state university.
References
External links
August Will on artnetJersey City Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Will, August
1834 births
1910 deaths
Artists from Jersey City, New Jersey
Immigrants to the United States
People from Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach