Henry Bayley Snell (September 29, 1858 – January 17, 1943) was an American Impressionist painter and educator. Snell's paintings are in museum collections including the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
in New York City, the
Albright–Knox Art Gallery
The Buffalo AKG Art Museum, formerly known as the Albright–Knox Art Gallery, is an art museum at 1285 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, New York, in Delaware Park. the museum's Elmwood Avenue campus is temporarily closed for construction. It hosted e ...
in Buffalo, and the
Pennsylvania Academy
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Biography
Snell was born on September 29, 1858, in Richmond, England. In 1875 he emigrated to the New York City where he studied at the
Art Students League
The Art Students League of New York is an art school at American Fine Arts Society, 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists ...
. Snell supported himself in the 1880s by producing marine scenes at the ''Photoengraving Company''. There he met follow artist
William Langson Lathrop
William Langson Lathrop (pronounced "LAY-throp") (March 29, 1859 – September 21, 1938) was an American Impressionist landscape painter and founder of the art colony at New Hope, Pennsylvania. He is sometimes referred to as a "Pennsylvania I ...
. In 1888 Snell married Florence Francis. Around that time Lathrop introduced the Snells to Bucks County Pennsylvania.
In 1899 Snell began teaching at the
Philadelphia School of Design for Women
Philadelphia School of Design for Women (1848–1932) was an art school for women in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Housed in the former Edwin Forrest House at 1346 North Broad Street, under the directorship of Emily Sartain (1886–1920), ...
, where he remained until 1943. He was an influential teacher, instructing several of the founding members of the
Philadelphia Ten
The Philadelphia Ten, also known as The Ten, was a group of American female artists who exhibited together from 1917 to 1945. The group, eventually numbering 30 painters and sculptors, exhibited annually in Philadelphia and later had traveling exh ...
, including
Theresa Bernstein
Theresa Ferber Bernstein-Meyerowitz (March 1, 1890 – February 13, 2002) was an American artist and writer born in Kraków, in what is now Poland, and raised in Philadelphia. She received her art training in Philadelphia and New York City. Over ...
.
In 1921 he co-founded, with Frank Leonard Allen, the "Boothbay Studios" in
Boothbay Harbor, Maine
Boothbay Harbor is a town in Lincoln County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,027 at the 2020 census. It includes the villages of Bayville, Sprucewold, and West Boothbay Harbor. During summer months, the entire Boothbay Harbor regio ...
, which operated as a summer school.
Snell exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy, the
Art Club of Philadelphia
The Art Club of Philadelphia, often called the Philadelphia Art Club, was a club in Philadelphia, founded on February 7, 1887, to advance the arts.
, and the
Salmagundi Club
The Salmagundi Club, sometimes referred to as the Salmagundi Art Club, is a fine arts center founded in 1871 in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan, New York City. Since 1917, it has been located at 47 Fifth Avenue. , its membership roster ...
in New York. He was awarded both gold and silver medals at the
Panama–Pacific International Exposition
The Panama–Pacific International Exposition was a world's fair held in San Francisco, California, United States, from February 20 to December 4, 1915. Its stated purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, but it was widely se ...
of 1915.
Snell died in
New Hope, Pennsylvania
New Hope is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The population was 2,612 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. New Hope is located approximately north of Philadelphia, and lies on the west bank of the Delaw ...