James Moore Preston (1873–1962) was an American painter and illustrator, married to fellow artist

May Wilson Preston Mary (May) Wilson Watkins Preston (August 11, 1873May 18, 1949) was an American illustrator of books and magazines and an Impressionism, impressionist painter. She had an interest in art beginning in her teenage years, but her parents sent her ...

. He was one of the

Ashcan School The Ashcan School, also called the Ash Can School, was an artistic movement in the United States during the late 19th-early 20th century that produced works portraying scenes of daily life in New York, often in the city's poorer neighborhoods. T ...

, along with his friend,

William Glackens William James Glackens (March 13, 1870 – May 22, 1938) was an American realist painter and one of the founders of the Ashcan School, which rejected the formal boundaries of artistic beauty laid down by the conservative National Academy of De ...

Early life

James Moore Preston was born in Roxborough, Pennsylvania in 1873.

Education

During the 1890s, Preston studied at the

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1805, it is the longest continuously operating art museum and art school in the United States. The academy's museum ...

in Philadelphia, where he met

Robert Henri Robert Henri (; June 24, 1865 – July 12, 1929) was an American painter and teacher. As a young man, he studied in Paris, where he identified strongly with the Impressionists, and determined to lead an even more dramatic revolt against A ...

and

George Luks George Benjamin Luks (August 13, 1867 – October 29, 1933) was an American artist, identified with the aggressively realistic Ashcan School of American painting. After travelling and studying in Europe, Luks worked as a newspaper illustrator a ...

. Fellow students were

and

Everett Shinn Everett Shinn (November 6, 1876 – May 1, 1953) was an American painter and member of the urban realist Ashcan School. Shinn started as a newspaper illustrator in Philadelphia, demonstrating a rare facility for depicting animated movement, a ...

. After working for a Philadelphia newspaper, Preston studied at the

Académie Colarossi The Académie Colarossi (1870–1930) was an art school in Paris founded in 1870 by the Italian model and sculptor Filippo Colarossi. It was originally located on the Île de la Cité, and it moved in 1879 to 10 rue de la Grande-Chaumière in the ...

in Paris in 1898. American artist May Wilson was also studying in Paris at that time.

Marriage

In 1903 Preston married May Wilson, whose roommate

Edith Dimock Edith Dimock (February 16, 1876 – October 28, 1955) was an American painter. Her work was exhibited at the 1913 Armory Show in New York. She married fellow artist, William Glackens, but continued to use her maiden name professionally after th ...

married one of Preston's friend, William J. Glackens. The two couples spent summers together from 1911 to 1917 in Bellport on Long Island and took trips together to Europe. May and James traveled to France often. In New York, they frequented Cafe Francis and Mouquin's with a group of fellow artists. In 1935, the Prestons moved to

East Hampton, New York East Hampton is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in southeastern Suffolk County, New York United States. It is located at the eastern end of the South Shore (Long Island), South Shore of Long Island. It is the easternmost town i ...

Career

Preston worked for the Philadelphia newspaper as an artist-reporter in 1895. He shared a studio at that time with

John Sloan John French Sloan (August 2, 1871 – September 7, 1951) was an American painter and etcher. He is considered to be one of the founders of the Ashcan school of American art. He was also a member of the group known as The Eight (Ashcan School), T ...

. After Paris, Preston moved to New York by 1900 and joined Luks, Glackens, and Wilson. He was a landscape painter and a member of the group called The Eight that included friends from New York and Philadelphia. He was one of the artists in the urban realism group called the

with

, and

. Preston was a co-illustrator with his wife, May Wilson Preston, on the "Our Horse" story printed in a 1910 edition of ''Everybody's Magazine''. He exhibited in 1913 at the

Armory Show The 1913 Armory Show, also known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art, was organized by thAssociation of American Painters and Sculptors It was the first large exhibition of modern art in America, as well as one of the many exhibition ...

and in the 1910s at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. In New York, he exhibited at the

MacDowell Club The MacDowell Clubs in the United States were established at the turn of the twentieth century to honor internationally recognized American composer Edward MacDowell. They became part of a broader social movement to promote music and other art forms ...

. He became a successful illustrator in the 1920s; he created images for advertisements and magazines. He focused on painting after he moved to East Hampton with his wife in 1935.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Preston, James Moore 1873 births 1962 deaths Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts alumni Académie Colarossi alumni American illustrators 19th-century American painters 19th-century American male artists American male painters 20th-century American painters 20th-century American male artists