Wilson Irvine

Wilson Henry Irvine (28 February 1869 – 1936) was a master American Impressionist landscape painter.

Although most closely associated with the Old Lyme, Connecticut art colony headed by Florence Griswold, Irvine spent his early career near Chicago, a product of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Irvine also painted across Western Europe — where he produced outstanding American Impressionist versions of the local countryside.

Today, Wilson Irvine's paintings grace the collection of Chicago's Art Institute, Florence Griswold Museum; National Portrait Gallery, Corcoran Gallery of Art; and Union League Club.

Irvine is best known for his mastery of light and texture — a 1998 exhibit of his work was called Wilson Henry Irvine and the Poetry of Light. To capture subtle effects of light, Irvine often painted en plein air — wearing his trademark cap, knickers, and goatee, with his easel and his paints set up in the field.

Sometimes Irvine's obsession with light led him to paint rather pedestrian subjects — landscapes depicting little more than some trees, or a road or fence. But a number of Irvine masterpieces depict well-composed scenes including houses, boats, bridges — even a handful of portraits, including at least one self-portrait and a nude.

Wilson Henry Irvine, born near Byron, Illinois, was a descendant of early Illinois settlers and farmers. He graduated from Rockford Central High School. He worked at the Chicago Portrait Company. He studied at The Art Institute of Chicago.

From the beginning, Irvine's interest in painterly subjects was equalled by a parallel focus on artistic technology. While still in his 20s, Irvine was a pioneer of the airbrush as artistic medium — a medium which had just been developed and marketed by Liberty Walkup, Irvine's Illinois neighbor, mentor, and teacher.

...
Wikipedia