Sold at Auction: Edmund W. Greacen

Edmund William Greacen (1876–1949) was an American Impressionist painter. His active career extended from 1905 to 1935, during which he created many colorful works in oil on canvas and board. One of his works, a reproduction of which is at the Smithsonian Institution, was awarded the Salmagundi Club's Samuel T. Shaw Prize in 1922. In addition to his work as an artist, Greacen also founded, ran and taught in New York City's Grand Central School of Art for more than 20 years.

Greacen was born in New York City, New York, the son of Thomas Edmund Greacen and Isabella Wiggins. Greacen's father had arrived from Scotland in 1868 and had established a shoe business. Thanks to the father's success in business affairs, the family was able to maintain a home at 6 West 50th Street—the site is now occupied by the Rockefeller Center—as well as a farm in Sullivan County, where the couple and their children spent their summers.

Greacen earned a bachelor's degree from New York University and afterward was sent on a "shoe-selling world cruise" by his father, who wanted him distracted from a fascination with the Spanish–American War. After returning, Greacen decided to pursue the career of an artist and in 1899 enrolled at the Art Students League of New York, also taking classes at the New York School of Art, where he studied with William Merritt Chase. During his studies Greacen met Ethol Booth of New Haven, Connecticut, an art student enrolled in the nearby Miss Morgan's art school. They were married in 1904.