William Bradford (painter) facts for kids
William Bradford (born April 30, 1823 – died April 25, 1892) was an American artist. He was a painter, a photographer, and an explorer. William Bradford came from Fairhaven, Massachusetts, near New Bedford. When he first started, he painted many pictures of ships in New Bedford Harbor. In 1858, one of his paintings, New Bedford Harbor at Sunset, was shown in a big art show.
William Bradford's Art Career
William Bradford is famous for his paintings of ships and icy Arctic scenes. He traveled to the Arctic many times with Dr. Isaac Israel Hayes. Bradford was the first American painter to show the frozen lands of the far north in his art.
In 1869, William Bradford went on a special trip to the Arctic. He sailed on a steamship called the Panther. Two photographers, John L. Dunmore and George Critcherson, joined him. When he came back, Bradford lived in London for two years. There, he wrote a book about his journeys to the north. The book was called The Arctic regions, illustrated with photographs taken on an art expedition to Greenland. It was published in 1873. In 1874, he became a member of the National Academy of Design.
Bradford was connected to the Hudson River School. This was not a real school, but a group of artists who painted in a similar style. He learned their ways of painting. He was very interested in how light looked on water. He also studied how light changed the look of water surfaces and the overall feeling of a painting. He often made his paintings balanced. He did this by adding a second main subject or by using darker colors around the edges. This helped to frame the brighter center of his artwork.
Art Gallery
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Looking out of Battle Harbor, 1877
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Whaler And Fishing Vessels Near The Coast Of Labrador, around 1880
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An Incident of Whaling
See also
In Spanish: William Bradford (pintor) para niños
