Wayman Elbridge Adams (September 23, 1883 – April 7, 1959) was an American painter best known for his portraits of famous people. His skill at painting at high speed earned him the nickname 'Lightning'.

Life

Adams was born in

Muncie, Indiana Muncie ( ) is a city in Delaware County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It is located in East Central Indiana about northeast of Indianapolis. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 65,195, down from 70,085 in the 2010 c ...

, the son of a livestock breeder. His artistic leanings were notably encouraged by his father who, being an amateur artist himself, enrolled Adams in

Herron School of Art Herron School of Art and Design, officially IU Herron School of Art and Design, is a public art school at Indiana University–Indianapolis (IUI) in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is a professional art school and has been accredited by the National As ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

. Thereafter, he continued his studies under the guidance of painter

William Merritt Chase William Merritt Chase (November 1, 1849October 25, 1916) was an American painter, known as an exponent of Impressionism and as a teacher. He is also responsible for establishing the Chase School, which later became the Parsons School of Design. ...

in Italy (1910) and

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 ...

in Spain (1912). In Italy, he met artist Margaret Graham Burroughs, and they married in 1918. On returning to the United States from his European studies, Adams opened a studio in Indianapolis, Indiana. He subsequently lived and worked in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Adams and his wife ran a summer art school in Elizabethtown, New York, from 1933 to 1945. Among Adams's pupils were Sister Mary Rufinia and Lucy Wilson Rice. He died in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

at the age of 76.

Art

Adams's mature style – featuring simplified composition, heavy brushstrokes, and patches of vivid color – shows the influence of both his teachers. He became known as a specialist in portraits, and his subjects included four U.S. presidents –

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States, serving from 1923 to 1929. A Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer from Massachusetts, he previously ...

Warren Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents w ...

William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was the ninth president of the United States, serving from March 4 to April 4, 1841, the shortest presidency in U.S. history. He was also the first U.S. president to die in office, causin ...

, and

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...

– the artist Francis Focer Brown, and the writers

Booth Tarkington Newton Booth Tarkington (July 29, 1869 – May 19, 1946) was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his novels ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' (1918) and ''Alice Adams (novel), Alice Adams'' (1921). He is one of only four novelists to w ...

and

James Whitcomb Riley James Whitcomb Riley (October 7, 1849 – July 22, 1916) was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and his children's poetry. His ...

. His first important recognition as an artist came in 1918 when he won a Logan prize for his portrait of

printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed technique ...

Joseph Pennell Joseph Pennell (July 4, 1857 – April 23, 1926) was an American draftsman, etcher, lithographer, and illustrator for books and magazines. A prolific artist, he spent most of his working life in Europe, and developed an interest in landmarks, lan ...

. Adams also turned out regional figure studies and street scenes in various media including painting, drawing, and printmaking. One series focuses on the residents of San Francisco's Chinatown, and another on the residents of

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, Louisiana, where he traveled frequently beginning in 1916. A number of the New Orleans works foreground African-American subjects. There are also portraits of notable New Orleans residents, including author Grace King, artist Ellsworth Woodward, and mayor Martin Behrman. Adams was well known in American artistic circles for his speedy painting technique, which earned him the nickname of 'Lightning. His portraits were often completed in one sitting. He exhibited widely in the United States and had an exhibition at the

Musée du Luxembourg The () is a museum at 19 in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. Established in 1750, it was initially an art museum located in the east wing of the Luxembourg Palace (the matching west wing housed the Marie de' Medici cycle by Peter Paul Rubens) an ...

in Paris in 1919. In 1921, he was elected an associate of the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Frederick Styles Agate, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, an ...

. His work is in the collection of the

New Orleans Museum of Art The New Orleans Museum of Art (or NOMA) is the oldest art museum, fine arts museum in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, New Orleans. It is situated within City Park (New Orleans), City Park, a short distance from the intersection of Carrollton ...

and other institutions. His work was also part of the painting event in the art competition at the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932, in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held du ...

Awards

* National Academy of Design — Proctor prize for portraiture (1914) * Mr and Mrs Frank G. Logan Prize (1918) * International Expo, Venice, Italy (1924) * Greenough Memorial Prize (1925) * Sesquicentennial Exposition Medal (1926) * National Academy of Design - first Altman Prize (1926) * Carnegie Institute Prize (1943)

References

Sources

*''American Art Review'' - August, 1997 Masterworks of the

Adirondacks The Adirondack Mountains ( ) are a massif of mountains in Northeastern New York (state), New York which form a circular dome approximately wide and covering about . The region contains more than 100 peaks, including Mount Marcy, which is the hi ...

- Welsch, Caroline M *''American Art Review'' - December, 2002 - the

Centennial - Warkel, Harriet G.
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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Wayman Elbridge 1883 births 1959 deaths 20th-century American painters American male painters Artists from Muncie, Indiana Herron School of Art and Design alumni Painters from Indiana Art competitors at the 1932 Summer Olympics 20th-century American male artists