William James Glackens Sold at Auction Prices

Painter, Illustrator, Still life painter, Landscape painter, b. 1870 - d. 1938

(b Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1870; d New York, New York, 1938) American painter. William Glackens began his career as an illustrator for the Philadelphia Press. He was encouraged to study at The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts by Robert Henri. Following a trip to Europe he settled in New York City in 1895. Glackens became a member of The Eight; the revolutionary group of realist artists led by Henri; and established a studio on Washington Square South, where he devoted himself to painting the parks and city squares of New York. His success as a professional artist began with the now-legendary exhibition entitled simply "The Eight," held at the Macbeth Gallery in New York. Around 1908 Glackens began developing a more Impressionistic style that included both assertive color as well as feathery brushstrokes reminiscent of the technique of Renoir. Glacken began depicting seaside resorts as early as 1908 in Cape Cod, but his most impressive works of this type were painted in Bellport, Long Island. He painted his most successful Impressionist works from 1911 until 1916 while spending his summers on the south shore of Bellport; there he developed a fully Impressionist technique, a painting style that he had become familiar with when traveling to Paris in 1912. In 1925 Glackens embarked on an eight-year sojourn to Paris with Robert Henri, Elmer Schofield and his family. Significantly, Glackens did not enroll in a Parisian art academy as so many fellow American painters did, and instead focused completely on his independent work. (Credit: Christie’s, New York, Important American Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture, December 5, 2002, lot 97; Christie’s, New York, Important American Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture, December 2, 1998, lot 36; Christie’s, New York, Important American Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture, November 30, 1995, lot 57; Sotheby’s, New York, American Paintings, May 22, 2002, lot 78)