William Bliss Baker facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
William Bliss Baker
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Baker, ca.1880-1886
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| Born | November 27, 1859 New York City, US
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| Died | November 20, 1886 (aged 26) |
| Education | M.F.H. de Haas Albert Bierstadt |
| Known for | Painting |
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Notable work
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Fallen Monarchs Morning After the Snow |
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| Awards | Elliott Prize for Drawing (1879) Third Hallgarten Prize (1884) |
William Bliss Baker (born November 27, 1859 – died November 20, 1886) was a talented American painter. He started painting when the famous Hudson River School art style was becoming less popular.
Baker began learning art in 1876 at the National Academy of Design. There, he learned from well-known artists like Albert Bierstadt and Mauritz F. H. de Haas. He had art studios in Clifton Park, New York, and in New York City. He created beautiful paintings using both oil paints and watercolors.
William Bliss Baker painted more than 130 artworks in his short life. Some of these were in black and white. He was only 26 years old when he passed away. Many people, including The New York Times, believed he was one of America's most promising young artists.
Contents
William Bliss Baker's Life
His Early Life and Family
William Bliss Baker was born in New York City on November 27, 1859. His father, Benjamin Franklin Baker, went to Yale University. His mother was Harriette Luisa Bayeux. Harriette's family were Huguenots, a group of French Protestants who moved to New York before the American Revolutionary War.
William's grandfather, Ellis Baker, was an important businessman. He helped run banks and insurance companies. He also started the Albany Rural Cemetery and Albany Hospital. He even managed stagecoach lines, which were like old-fashioned buses.
William's father, Benjamin, was a brave soldier during the American Civil War. He became a colonel and was known for his courage in battles. After the war, he served in the New York State Assembly, which is like a state government.
William had several brothers. His brother, Captain Guy Ellis Baker, married the daughter of a Civil War hero. William spent much of his childhood in Ballston Spa, New York. His family found a special place near Ballston Lake where William later built his summer art studio.
How He Studied and Became an Artist
William Bliss Baker studied art for four years, starting in 1876. He attended the National Academy of Design. There, he learned from famous painters like Albert Bierstadt and Mauritz F. H. de Haas.
In 1879, he won the Elliott prize for his first art show. Later, in 1885, Baker won the Hallgarten Prize for his painting called Woodland Brook.
By 1881, Baker had built a special summer art studio. He called it "The Castle." It was on the east side of Ballston Lake in Clifton Park, New York. This studio had amazing views of the Catskill Mountains and Berkshire Mountains. It also had great natural light for painting. Today, "The Castle" is a private home, but it is recognized as a historic place. Baker also had another studio in New York City.
His Untimely Death
William Bliss Baker was becoming a very successful landscape painter. He was part of the Realism art movement, which focused on painting things as they truly looked. Sadly, he died on November 20, 1886, at just 26 years old. He caught a cold after getting hurt while ice skating. He passed away at his father's house in Hoosick Falls, New York.
His very last painting was Meadow Brook. William Bliss Baker created over 130 paintings in his career.
Art critics at the time said his death was a "distinct loss to American art." The New York Times wrote that America lost "one of its most promising artists." Harper's Weekly and the New York Post also shared how sad they were about his early death. They all recognized his great talent and love for nature.
He is buried in his family's plot at Albany Rural Cemetery in Menands, New York.
William Bliss Baker's Artworks
Baker won the Third Hallgarten Prize in 1884 for his painting A Woodland Brook. This award was given by the National Academy of Design.
His most famous painting is Fallen Monarchs, which he painted in 1886. This masterpiece is now at the Brigham Young University Museum of Art in Provo, Utah. A smaller copy of this painting can be seen in the public library in Ballston, New York. Another of his paintings, A Pleasant Day at Lake George (1883), is displayed at the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake (hamlet), New York.
In 1887, his painting Morning After the Snow sold for $5,000. This would be worth a lot more money today! At the same auction, 129 of his other paintings sold for almost $15,000 in total.
Black and White Paintings
Here are some of William Bliss Baker's paintings that were done in black and white:
- The Brook (date unknown)
- Cattle Grazing Near a Stream Through the Pasture (date unknown)
- Dark Forest (around 1880)
- Morning in the Meadows (around 1883)
- Snow Scene (date unknown)
- Wood Interior (date unknown)
Color Paintings
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Here are some of his colorful paintings, listed by the year they were made:
- River View (1877)
- Deep in the Woods (1880)
- Hiding in the Haycocks (1881) - This painting is at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art.
- Landscape: Grez (around 1882) - You can see this at the Henry Art Gallery at the University of Washington.
- New York Harbour (1883)
- A Pleasant Day at Lake George (1883) - This is at the Adirondack Experience museum.
- Silence (1883)
- View of New York Harbor, with Brooklyn Bridge in the Distance (1883)
- October Morning (1884)
- First Fall of Snow (1884)
- First Snow of Winter (1884)
- Summer Evening (around 1884)
- Woodland Brook (around 1884-1885) - This painting is in Montréal at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
- Lake Luzerne (around 1885)
- Morning After the Snow (1885) - This is at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts.
- Woodland Scene (1885)
- Fallen Monarchs (1886) - This famous painting is at the Brigham Young University Museum of Art.
- Under the Apple Trees (1886)
- Meadow Brook (around 1886) - This was his very last completed painting.
Here are some more of his color paintings, but we don't know the exact year they were made:
- Apple Blossoms
- April Day
- Autumn Forest Landscape
- Autumn in Woods
- Banks of Schoharie
- Brook and Pasture
- Catskill Clove
- Church Beyond a Meadow
- Cows Watering in a Pond
- Early Autumn
- Forest Sunshine
- Fort Lee, Hudson River
- Harvest Time
- In the Old Pasture
- June Pastures
- Landscape with Cattle
- Marine
- Mountain Top
- New York Harbor, City Front
- Old Mill Pond
- The Old Orchard
- Quiet Pond
- The Roadside
- Rocky Pool
- Shadows in a Pool
- Sheep Pasture
- Snow Scene
- Solitude
- Still Pool in the Woods
- Summer Afternoon
- Sunlight in the Woods
- Sunny Brook
- Sunrise on New York Harbor
- Sunset
- Surf
- Tree Top
- Valley of Hudson from Catskills
- Water Fall
- Winter Forest
- Wooded Glade
- Woods in June
