Arthur Parton

Signed lower left. Bio:: Known as a Hudson River School painter, especially of mountain landscapes, Arthur Parton was well established in the New York art world where he exhibited ...

Signed lower left and dated 1863. Known as a Hudson River School painter, especially of mountain landscapes, Arthur Parton was well established in the New York art world where he exhibited at the National Academy of Design for more than half a century. He was born in Hudson, New York to a religious family supported by a cabinetmaker father. He enrolled in the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts as a student of William Trost Richards, who remained a strong influence, and in 1862, his first exhibitions were in Philadelphia. In 1864, he moved to New York City where he exhibited regularly with the National Academy of Design excepting 1869 when he spent a year in Europe and was influenced by the Barbizon style of painting. In 1874, he and his wife moved into the Tenth Street Building in New York City, and he kept his studio there until 1893. In 1876, he gained much national notoriety at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition for his paintings November, Loch Lomond and Solitude. He spent summers painting in the...

Signed lower right, 'Arthur Parton' (American, 1842-1914) and painted circa 1885. This notable Hudson River School painter first studied under William Trost Richards, from whom he gained a grounding in the technical aspects of his craft, and, subsequently, at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. While in Philadelphia, he began to exhibit with success and, in 1864, moved to New York where he continued to exhibit before leaving for Europe in 1869. In France, he was influenced by the works of the Barbizon painters and then furthered his studies in Paris and London (1870) before continuing to Scotland (1871). Upon his return to America, he would go on to establish himself as a major figure in the art world, maintaining a studio at 51 West 10th Street from 1874 to 1893. Best known for his landscapes of the Adirondacks and Catskill Mountains, Parton also painted in England and Scotland. During his career, he explored several styles including Tonalism and Impressionism, but remained closely influenced by the Hudson River style including Luminism. Parton was a member of the American Watercolor Society, the Artists Fund Society and, from 1871, the National Academy of Design, becoming a National Academician in 1884. Parton exhibited widely and with success including at the Corcoran Gallery of Art (1907-1908, 1910), Brooklyn Artists Association (1866-85), Philadelphia Centennial Exposition (1876), Boston Art Club (1882-1909), New York City (1886 gold medal), Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (1889 Temple gold medal, 1891, 1896-97, 1905), Paris Exposition Universelle (1889 honorable mention), St Louis Exposition (1904 medal), the Art Institute of Chicago and, for more than 50 years, at the National Academy of Design (1862-1914, 1896 prize). Parton gained widespread recognition after his painting of the Shenandoah River (1872) was published in William Cullen Bryant...