William Baxter Palmer Closson (October 13, 1848 - May 30, 1926) was an American artist.

Biography

He was born in

Thetford, Vermont Thetford is a town in Orange County, Vermont, United States in the Connecticut River Valley. The population was 2,775 at the 2020 census. Villages within the town include East Thetford, North Thetford, Thetford Hill, Thetford Center, Rices Mil ...

on October 13, 1848. His father David served as a Vermont legislator and his mother Abigail was a descendant of the painter

Benjamin West Benjamin West, (October 10, 1738 – March 11, 1820) was a British-American artist who painted famous historical scenes such as '' The Death of Nelson'', ''The Death of General Wolfe'', the '' Treaty of Paris'', and '' Benjamin Franklin Drawin ...

. As a young adult, he was educated at Thetford Academy before graduating and working as a clerk in a railroad office. Soon, he moved to Boston, Massachusetts, and worked as an apprentice wood engraver with

Samuel Smith Kilburn Samuel Smith Kilburn (18311903) was an engraver in Boston, Massachusetts, in the 19th century. He trained with Abel Bowen. Kilburn's work appeared in popular periodicals such as Gleason's Pictorial. His business partners included Richard P. Mallo ...

. He studied drawing at the

Lowell Institute The Lowell Institute is a United States educational foundation located in Boston, Massachusetts, providing both free public lectures, and also advanced lectures. It was endowed by a bequest of $250,000 left by John Lowell Jr., who died in 1836. ...

, then went on to work for '' Harper's Magazine'' and various publishing houses in Boston. While in Boston, he shared a studio with painter George Fuller. Seventeen of his paintings are in the American Art collection at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

. He also has works on display at the

Wadsworth Atheneum The Wadsworth Atheneum is an art museum in Hartford, Connecticut. The Wadsworth is noted for its collections of European Baroque art, ancient Egyptian and Classical bronzes, French and American Impressionist paintings, Hudson River School lands ...

in Hartford and the

Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, located in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on the city's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egyptian ...

. He married Grace Worden Gallaudet Kendall, daughter of Dr. Edward Miner Gallaudet, president of

Gallaudet College Gallaudet University ( ) is a private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. for the education of the Hearing loss, deaf and hard of hearing. It was founded in 1864 as a gramma ...

Washington DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

. He died on May 30, 1926 in Hartford, Connecticut and is buried in the Gallaudet plot at Cedar Hill Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Closson, William 1848 births 1926 deaths 19th-century American painters 20th-century American painters American male painters Burials at Cedar Hill Cemetery (Hartford, Connecticut) People from Thetford, Vermont Thetford Academy, Vermont alumni 19th-century American male artists 20th-century American male artists