George Ames Aldrich Windmill and Figures in Moonlight, 1905

A descendant of early New England colonists, George Ames Aldrich was born in Worcester, Massachusetts and received a college-preparatory education. He later claimed to have studied architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He did briefly attend New York City’s Art Students League, studying under such prominent artists as Kenyon Cox, William Merritt Chase and John Twachtman. In 1894, Aldrich made his first trip abroad. In later accounts, he named as his teachers in Paris numerous renowned artists, notably James McNeill Whistler. He made illustrations for several English and American magazines and newspapers. In northern France, Aldrich began painting the rural village and river scenes that would become his artistic mainstay.