George Maynard came to New York in 1866 to begin drawing lessons with the sculptor, Henry Kirke Brown. A year later, he entered the Academy Schools (Antique, 1867-9); Life, 1868-9) before leaving for Europe with his teacher, Edwin White. Maynard enrolled in the Antwerp Royal Academy in 1869 and studied with Joseph H.F. van Lerius. With his classmate, Frank D. Millet, he toured Greece, Turkey, and the Black Sea region in 1873, spending the winter of 1873-4 in Rome.
Following his return to New York in 1874, Maynard traveled to Boston where he assisted John La Farge in decorating Trinity Church in 1876. Intrigued by the possibilities of mural painting, he left for Europe in 1877 to make a study of decorative painting practices. Although important mural commissions were not immediately forthcoming, Maynard later executed ensembles for the Agriculture Building of the World's Columbia Exposition, the library of Congress, the Ponce de Leon Hotel in St. Augustine, FL, and the Plaza and Waldorf Hotels in New York. Meanwhile, he established a reputation through portraiture and was elected to the Society of American Artists in 1880.
Maynard's association with the National Academy was long and filled with service. In 1889 he replaced Lemuel Wilmarth for a year as professor in the schools, and he taught various classes at the Academy for most of the rest of his life. Between 1891 and 1894 he served on the Council and was elcted vice president in 1894, though he declined the office. In the twentieth century, he performed restoration work on the collection and as Academy Librarian, prepared a catalogue of the Academy's holdings. His gifts included books, etchings, photographs, lithographs, and two works of sculpture relating to Augustus Saint-Gaudens. After his death, funeral services were held at the Academy, then located on 109th St. and Amsterdam Ave. His widow continued working as Academy Clerk for many years.
The Academy possesses Maynard's palette and a collection of photographs of his work.
