No Image Available
for William Lamb Picknell
1853/54 - 1897
Picknell lived in Springfield, Vermont, until the death of his father, a minister, in 1867, when he was sent to relatives in Boston. He is said to have worked in a print shop during his teens; while in Boston he had art lessons from George Loring Brown. Traveling to Rome in 1872, Picknell apprenticed himself to George Inness and studied alongside his son, George Inness, Jr. Two years later he went to Paris, working under Jean-Léon Gérôme until 1876, when he moved to the artists' community of Pont Aven in Brittany, where he remained for about five years. In Pont Aven, Picknell attached himself to one of the American painters working there, Robert Wylie, and emulated his use of the palette knife to apply paint thickly and vigorously.
Picknell scored a great success in 1880 when his Road to Concarneau (Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.) was shown in the Paris Salon and drew enthusiastic reviews. That same year, he was elected to the Society of American Artists in New York. After spending some time in England, he returned to the United States. He and a friend, Hugh Bolton Jones, established a summer art colony in Annisquam, Massachusetts. Picknell usually spent winters in Europe, but he occasionally remained in the United States, fleeing the cold in Florida or California. He married Gertrude Powers in 1889. The following year, the couple moved to France, and settled near Fontainebleau; winters were spent in Antibes, and there were occasional visits to America. Picknell's impasto technique became increasingly refined, and he continued to explore the landscape themes of roads and large, open spaces. He usually worked out of doors, painting very little in his studio.
In 1897, shortly after the death of his only child, Picknell, himself quite ill, returned to the United States. He died just a month later of heart disease. A memorial exhibition of his work was held at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 1898.
Although the present painting is identified in the 1911 collection inventory as being by Adelaide Chase, it was designated as a self-portrait for some years during the twentieth century. In December 1891 Picknell wrote the Academy from Boston, saying that he was sending a portrait of himself, seventeen by twenty-one inches-the required size for a diploma presentation and the dimensions of this portrait. Unfortunately, he was not equally specific concerning the painter. However, the letter lends weight to the Chase attribution, for it is highly plausible that the landscape painter Picknell, while in Boston, would have turned to a local portrait painter, Chase.
Picknell scored a great success in 1880 when his Road to Concarneau (Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.) was shown in the Paris Salon and drew enthusiastic reviews. That same year, he was elected to the Society of American Artists in New York. After spending some time in England, he returned to the United States. He and a friend, Hugh Bolton Jones, established a summer art colony in Annisquam, Massachusetts. Picknell usually spent winters in Europe, but he occasionally remained in the United States, fleeing the cold in Florida or California. He married Gertrude Powers in 1889. The following year, the couple moved to France, and settled near Fontainebleau; winters were spent in Antibes, and there were occasional visits to America. Picknell's impasto technique became increasingly refined, and he continued to explore the landscape themes of roads and large, open spaces. He usually worked out of doors, painting very little in his studio.
In 1897, shortly after the death of his only child, Picknell, himself quite ill, returned to the United States. He died just a month later of heart disease. A memorial exhibition of his work was held at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 1898.
Although the present painting is identified in the 1911 collection inventory as being by Adelaide Chase, it was designated as a self-portrait for some years during the twentieth century. In December 1891 Picknell wrote the Academy from Boston, saying that he was sending a portrait of himself, seventeen by twenty-one inches-the required size for a diploma presentation and the dimensions of this portrait. Unfortunately, he was not equally specific concerning the painter. However, the letter lends weight to the Chase attribution, for it is highly plausible that the landscape painter Picknell, while in Boston, would have turned to a local portrait painter, Chase.
