Ralph Albert Blakelock

A Spring Garden

ca. 1880s

Signed lower right: RABlakelock

Ralph Albert Blakelock was a romanticist American painter known primarily for his landscape paintings related to the Tonalism movement.

Ralph Albert Blakelock played a pivotal role in the evolution of twentieth-century American art, breaking from the conventions of the Hudson River School and moving beyond Impression...

Signed lower left in arrowhead: RA Blakelock.

William Anderson Coffin (1855 - 1925) Springtime Landscape, circa 1910 Oil on canvas 30 x 24 inches Signed lower right Landscape and figure painter William Anderson Coffin was born...

Countryside, 1876 Oil on canvas 13 1/2 x 11 in. Framed: 17 1/2 x 15 x 1 1/2 in. Signed lower left and dated 1876

William Henry Innes (1905-1999) Innes first exhibited his work during the Second World War while he was in the Royal Air Force. He showed extensively at the Royal Academy, New Engla...

Gorgeous tonalist oil painting woman walking in field by pond with home in background by Willis Seaver Adams (American, 1844-1921), circa 1880. Trees and an amazing sky in the background add depth and interest to this beautiful piece. Signed "W. S. Adams" lower right corner. Condition: Previous restoration includes relining of canvas. Frame is vintage gilt molded and wood frame and shows previous repair of molding losses. Image size: 20"H x 24"W. Auctions records for the artist exceed $6,000. Willis Seaver Adams was known for his landscapes of the Connecticut River Valley. A relative recluse for much of his artistic life, his loneliness can be seen in much of his works. Oil miniatures were the focus for almost all of his later works. He is credited with over 425 oils, watercolors, and drawings. Willis Seaver was born in 1844 on a farm in Suffield, near the Connecticut River. He intermittently attended the Suffield Academy, and always wanted to be a painter. A wealthy doctor became his patron, and financed his studies in 1868 at the Royal Academy in Antwerp. When the doctor passed away, Adams returned home and struggled to make a living painting. After working for a photographer for three years, he opened his own studio. Adams helped organize Cleveland's first watercolor exhibit in 1876. Soon thereafter, he completed a portrait of Rutherford B. Hayes, then governor of Ohio, prior to his becoming President of the United States. This portrait enhanced Adams notoriety. In 1878, Adams traveled to Italy where he opened a studio in Venice, and became friendly with neighbor James Whistler. Prior to returning to Springfield, Adams lived in Florence, Italy for three years. He returned to became an instructor for the Springfield Art Association, and began to exhibit his works at the galleries of James D. Gill. His first one-man exhibit was held there in 1894. Other successful exhibitions took place in Chicago, New York, and Boston. Although his works garnered respectable prices and reflected his success, Adams felt he was due more recognition. In 1906, he moved to Greenfield, Massachusetts and converted a barn into a studio. There, he fell into relative obscurity, accompanied mainly by his dog, Collie. In 1921, Adams passed away. Examples of Willis Adams works can be seen at the Kent Memorial Library, the Wadsworth Atheneum, and the Suffield Academy. Several Suffield residents are thought to own Adams paintings.