William Lamb Picknell

William Lamb Picknell (October 23, 1853 – August 8, 1897) was a United States painter of landscapes, coastal views, and figure genres, known for his rapid painting style. He was born in Hinesburg, Vermont and died in Marblehead, Massachusetts.

William Lamb Picknell
Born	(1853-10-23)October 23, 1853 Hinesburg, Vermont
Died	August 8, 1897(1897-08-08) (aged 43) Marblehead, Massachusetts
Nationality	American
Known for	Painter
Movement	Orientalist

Life and career

Born in Hinesburg, Vermont, William was the son of Ellen Maria Upham and the Reverend William Lamb Picknell, a Baptist minister, both of New England families. In July, 1868, the summer following his father's death, the Picknell family moved to Chelsea, Massachusetts.[1]

He began his career by working in a Boston frame shop. In 1872, he travelled to Europe where he trained with Jean-Léon Gérôme in Rome (1874–75) and also received some informal training from Robert Wylie in Brittany.[2]

Throughout the 1880s, he primarily lived Waltham, Massachusetts, but frequently travelled abroad; spending two winters in England and also visiting other parts of the US, including Florida and California. He was living at Moret-sur-Loing, on the edge of the Forest of Fontainebleau, for most of the 1890s, but often spent the winters in the south of France. He returned to Massachusetts in 1897, where he died.[2]

Notable works

Banks of the Loing

Jour gris [Grey day], 1895

• The Road to Concarneau 1880, Corcoran Gallery
• Lobster Fisherman 1882
• Lande de Kerran, Finistere 1877
• Morning on the Loing at Moret ca. 1895, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
• Banks of the Loing ca. 1895

Honors

• Honorable Mention, Paris Salon, 1880 (The Road to Concarneau)
• Member, Society of American Artists
• Associate, National Academy of Design
• Member, Society of British Artists

See also

• List of Orientalist artists
• Orientalism

References

1. Rabb, L. W., "William Lamb Picknell: An American Emersonian Artist"
2. "Picknell, William Lamb (1853–97)", in The Oxford Dictionary of American Art and Artists

• William Lamb Picknell from the Dictionary of American Artists
• William Lamb Picknell on the Amico Library

Further reading

• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Picknell, William Lamb" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 21 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 584.
• Rabb, Lauren (1991). William Lamb Picknell, 1853–1897. New York: Hollis Taggart Galleries.