Willis Seaver Adams
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Willis Seaver Adams (1844–1921) was a landscape painter who studied under
Biography
Early life
Willis Seaver Adams was born in Suffield, Connecticut, in 1844. His father was Stephen Lorenzo Adams, also known as Pole Adams; his mother was Susan Adams. His father was a farmer and operated a tavern out of the house located by the Enfield and Suffield Covered bridge over the Connecticut River. In Willis' childhood, his father attempted to make him a farmer and a school master yet failed due to Willis' dreams to be involved with art. From 1857 to 1862 Adams sporadically attended the Connecticut Literary Institute, now known as Suffield Academy. While at the school Adams filled his books with sketches of animals and the people around him.
While working at a drug store in Springfield, a wealthy Springfield doctor named Dr. Holmes privately funded Adams to attend the Royal Academy in Antwerp in 1868, but Adams was forced to return to Springfield when his sponsor died soon after.
Artistic career
Willis Seaver Adams traveled to
In 1878, Adams traveled to Europe with Otto Bacher and became one of the "Duveneck Boys," a young group of American artists studying with
.When he returned from Europe, Adams began a long association with
Legacy
Adams' painting can be located today at Suffield Academy, Kent Memorial Library in Suffield, The Wadsworth Atheneum, Mount Holyoke College and Smith College. In 1966, Deerfield Academy organized a retrospective exhibit.
References
- ISBN 978-0-300-10125-6.