William Merritt Post (1856-1935)
- William Merritt Post (1856-1935)
- Bridge in the Marshes
- Oil on canvas
- 16 x 26 inches
- Signed and inscribed NY, lower right
Scholars continually rediscover competent American artists who enjoyed successful careers at the turn of the century, but whose legacy has been lost over time. One of these, William Merritt Post, was a tonalist landscape painter often associated with the Barbizon school and the early New England Impressionists.
Born on December 11, 1856 in Brooklyn, Post was the son of a commodities merchant. His parents separated after sixteen years of marriage and four children, suggesting a troubled home life. Post's attraction to nature began in the fall of 1879, when an excursion from Brooklyn to a marshy region made Post think, "If I were an artist, this region would be one of the first places I would strike out for." Unlike many artists of the day who studied in Paris, Germany and Holland, Post developed his eye for composition, his technical knowledge of the craft of painting and his deft draftsmanship in the artistic community of New York.
Artist biography by Kevin Murphy sourced from askart.com
